Rapid identification of mushroom toxins by direct electrospray probe mass spectrometry for emergency care

Anal Chim Acta. 2024 Apr 1;1296:342343. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342343. Epub 2024 Feb 6.ABSTRACTMushroom poisoning occurs frequently after the ingestion of toxic wild mushrooms misidentified as edible species. The goal of this study is to develop a mass spectrometric platform to bypass the need for morphological recognition of poisonous mushrooms by experts and rapidly identify the toxins in the mushrooms for emergency care. Trace mushroom toxins were collected by penetrating and removing the mushrooms surface for 3 mm with a direct electrospray probe (DEP). The analytes on the DEP were then dissolved in the solution (70% isopropanol containing 0.1% acetic acid) flowing out of a solvent reservoir on the DEP. Electrospray ionization was induced from the sample solution as a high electric field was generated between the DEP and MS inlet. The obtaining mass spectrometric results were further analyzed with principal component analysis (PCA) to classify mushroom toxins. The mass spectrometric platform for detecting mushroom toxins was assessed for its sensitivity, precision, and efficiency by determining its limit-of-detection (LOD), repeatability, and turnaround time, respectively. As a result, the LODs of the mushroom toxins in pure methanol and spiked in human vomitus by DEP/MS were within 0.001-0.5 ng/μL and 0.01-1 ng/μL, respectively. Linear responses of the mushroom toxins in pure methanol with concentrations between 0.01 and 5 ng/μL (R2 between 0.9922 and 0.998) were obt...
Source: Analytica Chimica Acta - Category: Chemistry Authors: Source Type: research