COMBINED USE OF ANALYTICAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ANDCELL MORPHOLOGY TRANSFORMATION ASSAY TO DETECT NEW-PROTEIN PHOSPHATASE INHIBITORS OF OKADAIC ACID TYPE

The search for new protein phosphatase inhibitors in shellfish contami nated by toxin-producing dinoflagellates generally relies on prelimina ry separation techniques followed by biological tests. To detect such substances without purifying them initially, we developed an approach based on a correlation of the results of two different analytical tech niques applied to toxic extracts. high-performance liquid chromatograp hy after derivation of the toxins and the cell morphology transformati on assay on KB cells. Application of this protocol to stored frozen mu ssels showed a decrease in okadaic acid concentration during storage, with formation of degradation derivatives, some of which possessed not able protein phosphatase inhibition activity. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd. All rights reserved.