HPLC/Tandem Electrospray Mass Spectrometry for the Determination of Sub-ppb Levels of Pacific and Caribbean Ciguatoxins in Crude Extracts of Fish

Ciguatera is a significant food-borne disease caused by potent polyether toxins (ciguatoxins) which accumulate in the flesh of ciguateric reef fish at risk levels >0.1 ppb for Pacific ciguatoxins. Research on ciguatera has been severely hindered by the lack of analytical methods that detect and c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analytical chemistry (Washington) 1999-01, Vol.71 (1), p.247-250
Main Authors: Lewis, Richard J, Jones, Alun, Vernoux, Jean-Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agnatha. Pisces
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Chemicals
Chemistry
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Ciguatoxins - analysis
Disease
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates
Fish
Fishes - metabolism
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mass Spectrometry
Mice
Poisons
Scientific imaging
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Ciguatera is a significant food-borne disease caused by potent polyether toxins (ciguatoxins) which accumulate in the flesh of ciguateric reef fish at risk levels >0.1 ppb for Pacific ciguatoxins. Research on ciguatera has been severely hindered by the lack of analytical methods that detect and characterize low levels of ciguatoxin in crude extracts of fish. Here we report a new procedure for ciguatoxin analysis based on gradient reversed-phase HPLC/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS). The method gave a linear response to pure Pacific and Caribbean ciguatoxins (P-CTX-1 and C-CTX-1) and the structurally related brevetoxin (PbTx-2) spiked into crude extracts of fish. Levels equivalent to 40 ppt P-CTX-1, 100 ppt C-CTX-1, and 200 ppt PbTx-2 in fish flesh could be detected by HPLC/MS/MS. Using P-CTX-1 as an internal standard, the analysis of extracts of 30 ciguateric fish from the Caribbean Sea (8 toxic, 12 borderline, and 10 nontoxic by mouse bioassay) confirmed the reliability of the method and allowed an estimated risk level of >0.25 ppb C-CTX-1 to be established. HPLC/MS/MS provides a sensitive analytical approach, not previously available, for the determination of Pacific and Caribbean ciguatoxins at sub-ppb levels in fish flesh.
ISSN:0003-2700
1520-6882
DOI:10.1021/ac980598h