Processing and purity assessment of standards for the analysis of type-B trichothecene mycotoxins

The lack of reliable, certified calibrant solutions for the Fusarium mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl-DON (3-Ac-DON), 15-acetyl-DON (15-Ac-DON) and nivalenol (NIV) is a serious drawback in the already problematic area of trichothecene analysis. For this reason, purified DON, 3-Ac-DON, 15-Ac-DON and NIV standards were processed, the conditions required for their isolation and purification were optimised, and the crystalline toxins were thoroughly characterised. Several complimentary analytical methods were used to evaluate the identities of the mycotoxins and the types and amounts of impurities; results obtained from H-1 and C-13 NMR spectra, as well as from IR-spectra, were in agreement with the literature. Elemental analysis revealed that the isolated NIV occurs as monohydrate. If this is not known it results in a weighing error of approximately 5%. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was only successful for 15-Ac-DON, as the other trichothecenes decomposed during measurements. No traces of chloride, nitrate and sulphate were found by means of ion chromatography (IC). As expected UV absorption spectra for DON, NIV, 3-Ac-DON and 15-Ac-DON yielded values of 216, 217, 217 and 219 nm, respectively. Minor peaks due to impurities were observed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection. The main impurity peak in the DON sample was identified by LC-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) as 4,7-dideoxy-NIV (7-deoxy-DON), which occurs at levels of approximately 1.4%. Gas chromatography (GC) was performed, coupled with either an electron capture detector (ECD), a flame ionisation detector (FID), or a mass spectrometric detector (MS); however, derivatisation prior to GC analysis makes the estimation of impurities difficult. LC-MS/MS was found to be unsuitable for quantifying levels of impurities. It can be concluded that high-purity (> 97%) B-trichothecene standards were successfully processed and fully characterised for the first time.