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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308073
Title: Using ion mobility mass spectrometry and collision cross section areas to elucidate the a and ß epimeric forms of glycosylated T-2 toxin

Author
item STEAD, SARA - Waters Corporation
item MCCULLAGH, MIKE - Waters Corporation
item Busman, Mark
item McCormick, Susan
item CRICH, DAVID - Wayne State University
item KATO, TAKAYUKI - Wayne State University
item Maragos, Chris

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/12/2014
Publication Date: 11/14/2014
Citation: Stead, S., McCullagh, M., Busman, M., McCormick, S.P., Crich, D., Kato, T., Maragos, C.M. 2014. Using ion mobility mass spectrometry and collision cross section areas to elucidate the a and ß epimeric forms of glycosylated T-2 toxin [abstract].

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Toxigenic fungi often grow on edible plants, thus contaminating food and feed with fungal metabolites. Plants can alter the chemical structure of mycotoxins as part of their defence against xenobiotics. The extractable conjugated or non-extractable bound mycotoxins formed remain present in the plant tissue but are currently neither routinely screened for in food nor regulated by legislation, thus they may be considered “masked”. Fusarium species mycotoxins are prone to metabolism or binding by plants. Toxicological data are scarce, but several studies highlight the potential threat to consumer safety from these substances1. In particular, the possible hydrolysis of masked mycotoxins back to their toxic parents during mammalian digestion raises concerns. Masked mycotoxins may also elude conventional analysis because of modified physicochemical properties. All of these effects may lead to a potential underestimation or overestimation of the total mycotoxin content of the sample. In this study we report the use of High Definition Mass Spectrometry (HDMS) as a powerful tool for the separation and characterisation of a and ß epimeric forms of glycoslated T-2 and related toxins. The a-glycosylated T-2 standard was isolated from Blastobotrys muscicola cultures following exposure to T-2 and the ß form produced via chemical synthesis. HDMS is a combination of high resolution mass spectrometry and high efficiency ion mobility separation. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a rapid orthogonal gas separation phase technique which allows another dimension of separation to be obtained within an UPLC timeframe. Compounds can be differentiated based on their size, shape and charge. In addition, both precursor ion and fragment ion information can be simultaneously acquired in a single injection in an HDMS experiment, referred to as HDMSE. HDMSE data not only provides additional peak capacity but also insights into the molecular characteristics of the analytes for example, the elucidation of different isomeric species and intra-molecular sites of protonation. The ion mobility data generated was used to calculate the collision cross section area (CCS) values within the data processing software (UNIFI Research Edition v.1.6.50) of 244.85 and 251.33 Angstroms for the a and ß T-2 glycosides, respectively. The combination of CCS, retention time, exact mass and fragmentation information provides a unique characteristic signature for the compounds. The individual CCS values derived for the a and ß epimers can be used to determine which epimeric form of the toxin is present in the sample and can serve as a valuable tool during toxicological and profiling studies. [1] Berthiller F., et al (2013) Masked Mycotoxins: A Review, Mol Nutr Food Res 57(1) 165-186.