Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of T-2 toxin in plasma

A gas-liquid chromatographic method for the determination of T-2 toxin in plasma is described. The toxin is extracted with benzene, washed with aqueous sodium hydroxide, and chromatographed on a small Florisil column; the heptafluorobutyryl derivative is prepared by reaction with heptafluorobutyrylimidazole. The T-2 HFB derivative is chromatographed on OV-1 at 230 degrees C and measured with an electron capture detector. Iso-T-2, an isomer of T-2 toxin, is added to samples as an internal standard before extraction. Recoveries averaged 98.0 +/- 5.5% at levels ranging from 50 to 1000 ng/mL. The limit of detection is 25 ng/mL.