Quantitative Analysis of Mycotoxins via LC-MS/MS

Chromatographic separation was performed on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C18 Rapid Resolution HD column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.8 μm; Agilent). Aflatoxin separation was performed using mixture A (deionized water) and B (methanol) in a 60:40 ratio isocratic condition. For OTA analysis, an elution described elsewhere [63 (link)] was used. The mobile phase flow rate was fixed at 0.3 mL min⁻¹, and the column temperature at 40 °C. MS/MS analysis was performed in MRM (multiple reaction monitoring) mode. The specific MS/MS parameters (retention time, ionization mode, and monitored transitions) associated with specific mycotoxins are shown in Table 6. The LOD and LOQ for the single aFs were 0.6 and 2.0 µg kg⁻¹, respectively, while for OTA they were 1.5 and 5.0 µg kg⁻¹, respectively.