Application of single immunoaffinity clean-up for simultaneous determination of regulated mycotoxins in cereals and nuts

A rapid and sensitive analytical strategy for the simultaneous determination of twelve mycotoxins (aflatoxins, fumonisins, zearalenon, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A, T-2 and HT-2 toxins) using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed and validated. The method was validated for peanuts, barley and maize-breakfast cereals; selected as they represent the matrices most often contaminated by mycotoxins. The method is designed for fast and reliable analyses of mycotoxins in regulatory, industrial and private laboratories. Multi-target immunoaffinity columns containing antibodies for all mycotoxins studied herein were used for sample clean-up. Method optimization was predominantly focused on the simplification of extraction and clean-up procedure recommended by column producers. This newly developed and simplified procedure decreased both the sample preparation time and the solvent volumes used for their processing. The analysis of all regulated mycotoxins was conducted by a newly developed UHPLC-MS/MS method with a sample run time of only ten minutes. The method trueness was tested with analytical spikes and certified reference materials, with recoveries ranging from 71% to 112% for all of the examined mycotoxins.