Indirect electrochemical detection of type-B trichothecene mycotoxins

Trichothecene mycotoxins in animal. feed and human food can cause fatalitie s in livestock and disease in humans. In addition, these toxins are suspect ed chemical warfare agents. Therefore, development of a simple and sensitiv e method for the screening of trichothecenes is important to prevent econom ic loss and health hazards. A simple and inexpensive method for the detecti on of type-B trichothecene mycotoxins has been developed in our laboratory. By hydrolyzing the toxin under basic conditions at 80 degrees C for 1 h it is possible to detect the toxin with simple electrochemical techniques. De oxynivalenol (DON), commonly known as vomitoxin, was used as a representati ve compound for type-B trichothecenes in this detection scheme. The detecti on limit for DON using our procedures was determined to be 9.1 mu M in solu tion, corresponding to 0.24 ppm in a 25-g grain sample if the final extract ion volume is 2.2 mi, The linear dynamic detection range was determined to be from 0.32 ppm to greater than 32 ppm. In addition to standard solutions, this method was used on rice samples spiked with DON, It was demonstrated that there is no electrochemical interference from rice extract and that 1 ppm of DON in rice samples can be quantified. This method may be ideal for toxin screening in animal feeds or in runoff from sites that produce the co mpounds as chemical warfare agents. Since the active moiety its DON is comm on to virtually all type-B trichothecenes, our approach may be ideal for ty pe-specific screening.