Analysis of Trichothecene Mycotoxins

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Abstract
Diagnostic toxicology requires the analysis of feeds and diagnostic specimens for the toxic principles involved in the poisoning. The trichothecene mycotoxins are both acutely irritating and very poisonous. They may be analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) and their presence confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The level of sensitivity we readily achieve is micrograms per gram of feed. T-2 toxin (T-2) and diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) give sharp peaks by GC using 10% OV-101 at 260 °C. Vomitoxin (VT) does not give a single sharp peak but rather a broad peak resulting in much lower sensitivity for VT than T-2 and DAS. Acetate derivatization can be done to provide equal sensitivity for all three compounds by GC. Group I trichothecenes, represented by DAS and T-2, may be hydrolyzed to the tetraol and triol and reacetylated. This allows for more generic analysis to be done. The group II and IV cyclic esters may be acetylated and analyzed. TLC is used for Group IV and both TLC gas liquid chromatography for Group II. The advantages of derivatization and selective detection extend the analytical sensitivity for the analysis of trichothecene mycotoxins in tissues. A cleanup procedure that uses a water extraction followed by a partition into ethyl acetate is used in the preparation, cleanup, and analysis of VT. Sep-Pak C18 cartridges are used to clean up extracts from toxicology specimens for precision chromatography. VT is eluted from the cartridge with H2O and T-2 and DAS are eluted with 75% MeOH/HOH.