Challenges and future directions in LC-MS-based multiclass method development for the quantification of food contaminants

Abstract

Monitoring of food contaminants and residues has undergone a significant improvement in recent years and is now performed in an intensive manner. Achievements in the area of chromatography-mass spectrometry coupling techniques enabled the development of quantitative multi-target approaches covering several hundred analytes. Although the majority of methods are focusing on the analysis of one specific group of substances, such as pesticides, mycotoxins, or veterinary drugs, current trends are going towards the simultaneous determination of multiclass compounds from several families of contaminants and residues. This work provides an overview of relevant multiclass concepts based on LC-MS/MS and LC-HRMS instruments. Merits and shortcomings will be critically discussed based on current performance characteristics of the EU legislation system. In addition, the discussion of a recently developed multiclass approach covering >1000 substances is presented as a case study to illustrate the current developments in this area.

Development, validation, and application of a multi-method for the determination of mycotoxins, plant growth regulators, tropane alkaloids, and pesticides in cereals by two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

“…While matrix impacts the lifetime of columns and source of mass spectrometers, also precise quantification may be adversely influenced [42]. MEs have been investigated for all analytes.…”

Acute Infectious Gastroenteritis: The Causative Agents, Omics-Based Detection of Antigens and Novel Biomarkers

“…As such, metabolomics analysis can be used to detect Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The most widely used techniques in metabolomics analysis are gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS) [ 154 , 160 , 161 ]. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is also the metabolomic analysis technique used to detect changes in gut microbiota in children with diarrhoea caused by diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC), as DEC-infected children and healthy children have a statistically different composition of microbiota [ 162 ].…”

Suitability of High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for Routine Analysis of Small Molecules in Food, Feed and Water for Safety and Authenticity Purposes: A Review

“…Analytical strategies have been developed for decades to evaluate food and feed composition and nutritional value and to detect the presence of undesirable or harmful compounds or foodborne pathogens. The analysis of chemical substances in food and feed is a challenging task, given the multitude of matrices encountered and the disparate properties of targeted contaminants [1]. Moreover, some of these substances must be detected and/or quantified at trace levels with sufficient accuracy and robustness.…”

“…HRMS instruments are usually described as less sensitive than triple quadrupoles [15]. However, thanks to recent technical improvements such as the introduction of new ion transition devices or advances in detection technology [1], several studies presented similar sensitivities achieved by the two types of instrument [16][17][18]. Moreover, a higher resolution provides an enhanced selectivity when a large number of analytes are determined simultaneously and, for the best-performing instruments with sufficient resolving power, the potential to discriminate analytes from isobaric co-eluting sample matrix compounds.…”