Analysis of tetrodotoxin

Law enforcement personnel interdicted an illegal shipment of a chemical sus pected to be an illicit drug. However, literature within the package indica ted that the substance was actually tetrodotoxin, a potent marine neurotoxi n. Analyses of the questioned samples by gas chromatography-mass spectromet ry revealed no evidence for the presence of illicit drugs, but this techniq ue was ineffectual for the identification of tetrodotoxin. Direct-inlet-pro be mass spectrometry was likewise unable to characterize the chemical ident ity of the subject material. Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry was implemented to successfully identify the interdicted substance as tetrodoto xin. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.