Immunochemical approach for zearalenone-4-glucoside determination

Area of Science:

• Food Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Mycotoxicology

Background:

• Masked mycotoxins, like zearalenone-4-glucoside, pose challenges in food safety due to their modified structures.
• Accurate detection of both parent mycotoxins and their conjugates is crucial for risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate immunochemical methods for detecting zearalenone-4-glucoside.
• To enable simultaneous quantification of zearalenone and its masked form in cereal matrices.

Main Methods:

• Development of hydrolysis techniques (acidic and enzymatic) to release zearalenone from zearalenone-4-glucoside.
• Application of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gel-based immunoassay for zearalenone-4-glucoside determination.
• Validation using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) as a confirmatory method.

Main Results:

• Enzymatic hydrolysis using glucosidase from Aspergillus niger achieved high cleavage rates (102% in standards, 85% in cereals).
• Achieved limit of detection for zearalenone-4-glucoside by ELISA was 3 μg kg⁻¹.
• Qualitative immunoassay cut-off for the sum of zearalenone and zearalenone-4-glucoside was 50 μg kg⁻¹.
• Good correlation was observed between immunochemical methods and LC-MS/MS data.

Conclusions:

• Developed immunochemical techniques are suitable for simultaneous detection of zearalenone and zearalenone-4-glucoside.
• These methods offer a reliable approach for monitoring masked mycotoxins in cereal products.