Analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> toxins via HPLC-MS/MS multimethods: matrix effects and strategies for compensation

An easy, fast and reliable method based on a dispersive solid phase extraction (DSPE) cleanup for the determination of DON, T-2, HT-2, and ZEA is introduced. Using a consecutive extraction with water and acetonitrile followed by a forced phase separation (salting out), the cleanup is performed with primary-secondary amines (PSA) as bulk solid phase material. Furthermore, a rapid method without cleanup for fumonisin analysis is presented. HPLC with a triplequad MS and ESI source was used for the detection of all analytes. Since matrix effects always occur while performing mass spectrometry, experiments were done in order to quantify these effects. DON, T-2, HT-2, and ZEA show (in part highly) suppressed signals depending on matrix. Less effects for fumonisins—a slight suppression for FB₁ and a slight enhancement for FB₂—are observed. For compensation of these partly strong effects, dilution and standard addition as well as the use of isotope-labeled internal standards are performed and discussed. The validity of the methods is proven by comparison with reference methods as well as by cleanup of quality control samples. Furthermore, different method parameters of both methods (LOD, LOQ, recovery, linear range, etc.) are presented.