Determination of microcystins in fish tissues using HPLC with a rapid and efficient solid phase extraction

The presence of toxic cyanobacterial blooms have caused severe problems for aquatic animals, wildlife and humans. Monitoring of microcystins (MCs) in fish and other aquatic animals is important for evaluating the potential risk for human consumption. Existing methods for extracting and purifying microcystins in fish tissue are both time- and solvent-consuming. The present study used HLB (0.5 g) and silica gel (2 g)/plus silica gel (0.69 g) tandem cartridges to isolate microcystins from fish tissue samples for subsequent analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA). The microcystins (MC-RR, MC-LR) were isolated from a Microcystis bloom in Chikato Pond, Japan, and the purity was confirmed by HPLC. This report has presented a simple and rapid solid phase extraction procedure for determining microcystins in fish tissue, since it yielded high recovery (> 85%) and consistency (SD < 5%) in isolating microcystins from fish tissue. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.