QuEChERS Purification Combined with Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Simultaneous Quantification of 25 Mycotoxins in Cereals

Abstract

A method based on the QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) purification combined with ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS), was optimized for the simultaneous quantification of 25 mycotoxins in cereals. Samples were extracted with a solution containing 80% acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid, and purified with QuEChERS before being separated by a C18 column. The mass spectrometry was conducted by using positive electrospray ionization (ESI+) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) models. The method gave good linear relations with regression coefficients ranging from 0.9950 to 0.9999. The detection limits ranged from 0.03 to 15.0 µg·kg−1, and the average recovery at three different concentrations ranged from 60.2% to 115.8%, with relative standard deviations (RSD%) varying from 0.7% to 19.6% for the 25 mycotoxins. The method is simple, rapid, accurate, and an improvement compared with the existing methods published so far.

Detection Methods for Aflatoxin M1 in Dairy Products

“…It was originally developed for pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables by Anastassiades, Lehotay, Stajnbaher, and Schenck [29]. However, due to its simplicity, it has been adapted for other analyses [21,30,31].…”

“…The QuEChERS method includes two steps-a simultaneous extraction and partitioning step using acetonitrile and salts, followed by a clean-up step based on a dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) [30,32]. Following the acetonitrile extraction step, different sorbents, such as octadecyl silica (C18), primary secondary amine (PSA), and graphitized carbon black (GCB), can be used for additional purification, which can result in satisfactory recoveries due to the reduced matrix effect [31]. C18 is used to remove long chain fatty compounds, sterols and proteins; PSA is efficient in the removal of sugars, fatty acids and organic acids; and GCB is a strong sorbent for removing pigments, as chlorophyll, polyphenols and other polar compounds [33].…”

Fast determination of 14 mycotoxins in chestnut by dispersive solid‐phase extraction coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry

“…A QuEChERS‐based approach has been used for multi‐mycotoxin extraction in nut , maize , and cereals , and the previously used QuEChERS method demonstrated recovery of most mycotoxins, with the exception of AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 , aflatoxin G 2 , T‐2, and fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ) , which were below the acceptable range (70%) in cereals. In particular, fumonisin B 2 (FB 2 ), and ZEN in maize could not be detected at low‐ and mid‐level spiking levels using this approach .…”

“…As such, it is necessary to monitor for the presence of these mycotoxins in chestnuts and effective methods for multi‐mycotoxin detection are needed to facilitate the control and regulation of these dangerous compounds. UHPLC–MS/MS has increasingly contributed to the expanding field of mycotoxin analysis because of its high sensitivity, specificity, and reliability, particularly with regard to the development of multi‐mycotoxin detection methods . In recent years, some HPLC‐fluorescence detector and UHPLC‐MS/MS methods have been specifically developed for multi‐mycotoxin detection in chestnuts.…”

Determination of multiple mycotoxins in maize using quechers sample preparation and LC-MS/MS detection

“…Mycotoxins can be analyzed by various methods, including thin layer chromatography (TLC), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, gas chromatography, and immunoaffinity column/high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence and diode array detection (Sun et al 2016). The use of LC coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) for the confirmation of polar contaminants, such as mycotoxins, has become common nowadays, in the systems designed for the control of food quality (Vuković et al 2016).…”