Analysis of ochratoxin A in pig tissues using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) as confirmative methods

Determination of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin a in Animal Liver using HPLC-FD Method with Immunoaffinity Column Clean-Up

Analytical methods based on immunoaffinity column clean-up and quantitative determination with liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection were used to determine aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in liver samples. The validation of the procedures was performed. The linearity of the methods was checked, and a good coefficient of correlation was found for all aflatoxins and OTA as well. The LOD and LOQ were acceptable: 0.003 µg/kg and 0.009 µg/kg for AFB1; 0.001 µg/kg and 0.005 µg/kg for AFB2; 0.006 µg/kg and 0.020 µg/kg for AFG1; 0.007 µg/kg and 0.022 µg/kg for AFG2; 0.08 µg/kg and 0.27 µg/kg for OTA. The results for the repeatability estimated by the relative standard deviation (RSDr) were satisfactory and the obtained values were in the acceptable range (1.97–14.41% for all aflatoxins and 3.76-8.31% for OTA) at three proposed concentration levels. RSDR values showed acceptable correlation between two analysts for all four aflatoxins and OTA. The RSDR values were as followed: 2.37% and 5.60% for AFB1, 6.71% and 8.78% for AFB2, 4.40% and 7.00% for AFG1 and 10.30% and 13.91% for AFG2 (for the first and second analyst, respectively). The RSDR values for OTA were 4.91% and 3.15% (1 µg/kg); 3.76% and 4.12% (5 µg/kg) and 8.31% and 8.21% (10 µg/kg). The mean recovery for total aflatoxins and OTA were 78.10% and 93.34%, respectively. All validation parameters were in accordance to European legislation. They indicate that the proposed analytical procedures are suitable and they could be methods of choice for the determination of aflatoxins and OTA in liver samples.

Characterization and validation of sampling and analytical methods for mycotoxins in workplace air

Mycotoxins are produced by certain plant or foodstuff moulds under growing, transport or storage conditions. They are toxic for humans and animals, some are carcinogenic. Methods to monitor occupational exposure to seven of the most frequently occurring airborne mycotoxins have been characterized and validated. Experimental aerosols have been generated from naturally contaminated particles for sampler evaluation. Air samples were collected on foam pads, using the CIP 10 personal aerosol sampler with its inhalable health-related aerosol fraction selector. The samples were subsequently solvent extracted from the sampling media, cleaned using immunoaffinity (IA) columns and analyzed by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Ochratoxin A (OTA) or fumonisin and aflatoxin derivatives were detected and quantified. The quantification limits were 0.015 ng m(-3) OTA, 1 ng m(-3) fumonisins or 0.5 pg m(-3) aflatoxins, with a minimum dust concentration level of 1 mg m(-3) and a 4800 L air volume sampling. The methods were successfully applied to field measurements, which confirmed that workers could be exposed when handling contaminated materials. It was observed that airborne particles may be more contaminated than the bulk material itself. The validated methods have measuring ranges fully adapted to the concentrations found in the workplace. Their performance meets the general requirements laid down for chemical agent measurement procedures, with an expanded uncertainty less than 50% for most mycotoxins. The analytical uncertainty, comprised between 14 and 24%, was quite satisfactory given the low mycotoxin amounts, when compared to the food benchmarks. The methods are now user-friendly enough to be adopted for personal workplace sampling. They will later allow for mycotoxin occupational risk assessment, as only very few quantitative data have been available till now.