Enhancing food contaminant surveillance capacity using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with UV/fluorescence detection

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: The University of Missouri (MU) Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (VMDL) is the only full-service veterinary diagnostic laboratory accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) in the state of Missouri. For over thirty years, the MU VMDL’s Diagnostic Toxicology and Analytical Chemistry Section (DTACS) has provided critical analytical support to detect a variety of potential toxicants, especially aflatoxins and ergopeptine alkaloids that contaminate livestock feeds and pet foods. Because these and other food contaminants can not only harm animals but can also result in the presence of contaminant residues in foodstuffs intended for human consumption, the food contaminant surveillance activities of Vet-LIRN must be sensitive, accurate, rapid, and cost-effective. The VMDL DTACS is fully committed to expand its analytical capacity to better support statewide, regional, and national diagnostic needs, as well as increase participation in Vet-LIRN’s surveillance efforts intended to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness in animals and humans. Dr. Xiangwei Du, DTACS Analytical Chemist, and Dr. Tim Evans, DTACS Head, will serve as Co-Principal Investigators. Dr. Du has expertise in working with Vet-LIRN and the development and optimization of diagnostic methods. While helping the FDA to determine the scope of a recent pet food contamination involving aflatoxins, Du and Evans concluded that the high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation methods used by the DTACS could no longer provide optimal and consistent measurement of very low concentrations of common food contaminants in diagnostic samples and could not adequately meet Vet-LIRN’s high-volume, rapid-response needs in instances of widespread livestock feed or pet food contamination. Given the financial constraints facing many public, land-grant universities, including MU, the efforts of the MU VMDL DTACS to update its analytical capabilities must proceed in a strategic and stepwise manner. The replacement of HPLC instrument capabilities with ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC or UHPLC), will provide four times faster sample processing and at least five times greater contaminant detection resolution than HPLC. This upgrade will immediately enhance the analytical capabilities of the DTACS diagnostic services, provide a platform for future analytical capacity expansion, and allow increased participation in Vet-LIRN’s food contaminant surveillance efforts. The Specific Aims of this grant proposal are 1) purchase a new UPLC with UV and fluorescence detectors; 2) optimize methods using UPLC to measure mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins and ergopeptine alkaloids, in various different matrices; and 3) develop new methods using UPLC to measure cannabinoids and other analytes, particularly those of interest to Vet-LIRN, in selected matrices. Accomplishment of these Specific Aims will sufficiently expand the analytical capacity of the DTACS to facilitate both improved diagnostic services and more meaningful contributions to Vet-LIRN’s mission to enhance human and animal food safety.