Identification and quantification of domoic acid by UHPLC/QTOF tandem mass spectrometry, with simultaneous identification of non-target photodegradation products. Issue 12 (26th September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gagez, Anne-Laure; Bonnet, Antoine; Pineau, Philippe; Graber, Marianne
• Is Part Of: International journal of environmental analytical chemistry. Volume 97:Issue 12(2017)
• Page Start: 1192
• Page End: 1205
• Publication Date: 2017-09-26
• Subjects: Domoic acid -- toxin -- seawater -- liquid chromatography -- mass spectrometry -- accurate mass; Ecology -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental chemistry -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Periodicals; 577.14
• DOI: 10.1080/03067319.2017.1393538
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-7319

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Amnesic shellfish poisoning is a potentially lethal human toxic syndrome which is caused by domoic acid (DA), a neurotoxin produced by marine phytoplankton, principally from Pseudonitzschia genus. In this report, a method to identify and quantify the DA toxin, with simultaneous identification of its photodegradation products, has been developed. It uses an ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer (UHPLC–QTOF) after solid-phase extraction (SPE). An unambiguous identification of DA was carried out by considering both the retention time of DA in UHPLC and the exact mass of protonated DA molecule ([M + H] + = 312.1447 m/z) and of the most intense fragment ion (m/z 266.1391). The quantification was conducted using protonated DA molecule with protonated Glafenin as internal standard, obtaining a limits of detection of 0.75 µg L −1 . Large screening with UHPLC–QTOF could also give structural information about degradation products of DA present in samples after UV-irradiation. This method was applied for the determination of DA in complex liquid samples after SPE and is applicable for environmental monitoring of this toxic substance in the aquatic environment.