DETERMINATION OF FUMONISINS USING ONLINE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY COUPLED TO ELECTROSPRAY MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Fumonisin (FB) mycotoxins are produced by Fusarium monoliforme, which grows primarily on yellow corn. Ingestion of FB1-contaminated food cau ses leukoencephalomalacia in horses, pulmonary edema in pigs, and is s uspected in the etiology of human esophageal cancer. Chromatographic s eparation and detection of underivatized fumonisins has been hampered because these compounds are nonvolatile, thermally labile, and devoid of chromophoric functional groups. We report here a simple liquid chro matography/mass spectrometry method employing chromatographic separati on on a polymer-based column coupled with sensitive detection using po sitive-ion electrospray mass spectrometry for the quantification of fu monisins B1, B2 and B3 in extracts of commercial corn meal.