Analysis of deoxynivalenol in beer
Mycotoxins, toxic secondary metabolites of several fungal species, represent food safety issue of high concern. Deoxynivalenol (Figure 1), the most abundant trichothecene mycotoxin, can be found world-wide as a contaminant of wheat, barley, maize and other cereals. The transmission of deoxynivalenol from barley into beer has been reported in several studies. Therefore, its levels should be controlled.
The AccuTOF-LC time-of-flight mass spectrometer equipped with a DART ion source and AutoDart HTC PAL autosampler, was used for examination of beer in this study. Donprep® immunoaffinity columns (R-Biopharm) was employed for selective isolation of target analyte from the sample. Briefly, 10 mL of beer with added internal standard (13C15-deoxynivalenol, 500 ng/ml) were passed through the cartridge, which was then washed with 5 mL of water. Deoxynivalenol was subsequently eluted with 4.5 mL of methanol. Calibration standards containing deoxynivalenol in the range from 100 to 1500 ng/mL and fixed amount of internal standard (500 ng/mL) were prepared for quantification.