Updating GC/MS analytical capabilities to enhance human and animal health

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Project Summary Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) is a critical analytical methodology for any toxicology section in a diagnostic laboratory. These analytical methods are used to screen for many organic toxicants, including pesticides, and the quantitation of these analytes. The rapid identification of pesticide exposures in livestock, especially those pesticides which can accumulate in fat and can find their way into foods consumed by humans, is essential for protecting animal health and maintaining food safety standards. With increasing concerns about the potential for agroterrorism, it is important that suspected cases in livestock be ruled out or confirmed as soon as possible to enable accurate communication with the public and regulatory agencies. Likewise, it is also important for a toxicology section to be able to analyze livestock feeds and pet food for potential contamination with organic toxicants. The University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (VMDL) Toxicology Section is currently able to detect some organic toxicants, but its current instrumentation is fifteen years old, no longer has a functional autosampler, and is old enough that the manufacturer will no longer service or repair this piece of equipment. The current capabilities of this instrumentation have significantly limited our toxicology section’s abilities for method development and participation in Vet-LIRN proficiency testing and other activities. The VMDL Toxicology Section has a long history of partnering board-certified veterinary toxicologists with PhD analytical chemists and excellent technical staff to provide essential services to the VMDL’s pathologists and stakeholders, including Missouri’s Department of Agriculture. The Toxicology Laboratory in the VMDL is well- designed and has adequate space for the proposed instrumentation. The acquisition of up-to- date GC/MS instrumentation will allow the VMDL Toxicology Section to provide greater benefits to human and animal health in Missouri and its neighboring states, as well as to enhance its participation in Vet-LIRN.