A reliable liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of multiple mycotoxins in fresh fish and dried seafoods

• A LC–MS/MS method was developed for determination of 9 mycotoxins in seafoods.
• A reliable, rapid and simple sample pretreatment method was optimized.
• The approach possesses a desirable level of sensitivity, recovery and precision.
• Results showed that fish and dried seafoods could be contaminated by mycotoxins.

A reliable liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of nine mycotoxins, i.e., aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1), aflatoxin G2 (AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2 toxin, HT2 toxin and deoxynivalenol (DON), in fresh fish (muscle and entrails) as well as dried seafoods. Special focus was given to sample pretreatment which is crucial for an accurate and reliable analytical method. With regards to the high complexity of the matrices, extraction solvent, time, and temperature as well as clean-up cartridges were optimized to improve extraction efficiency and reduce matrix effects. The optimum procedure included ultrasound-assisted extraction with acetonitrile/water/acetic acid (79/20/1, v/v/v) at 40 °C for 30 min, defatting with n-hexane and purification by Oasis HLB cartridges. The method was further validated by determining the linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9989), sensitivity (limit of detection ≤2 μg/kg, limit of quantitation ≤3 μg/kg), recovery (72.2–119.9%) and precision (≤18.3%) in muscle and entrails of fresh crucian carp (Carassius carassius) as well as dried fish products. The method was proven to be suitable for its intended purposes. Mycotoxins of OTA, ZEN and AFB2 have been found in fresh fish and dried seafoods for the first time.