Rapid determination of deoxynivalenol (vomitoxin) by liquid chromatography using modified Romer column cleanup

A modification of the Romer method for determining deoxynivalenol (DON) provides rapid sample cleanup and includes liquid chromatographic (LC) quantitation. The method was evaluated using wheat, wheat flour, and other wheat products. The sample is extracted with acetonitrile-water (84 + 16), and an aliquot of the extract is subjected to activated charcoal-alumina column chromatography. The extract is then evaporated and diluted to volume with mobile phase, and DON is quantitated using liquid chromatography. The relative standard deviation based on duplicate samples is 6.07%. The detection limit is 30 ppb based on 2 X signal/noise ratio. Results by this method compared with the results obtained by the Scott GC method showed a correlation coefficient of 0.992 with a mean vomitoxin content of 779 ppb by this method and 716 ppb by the Scott method for 14 samples.