LCMS - Articles and news items

Using LC-MS to study the fate of food ingredients in the human body

Issue 2 2010 / 12 May 2010 / Christian H. Grün & Hans-Gerd Janssen, Unilever Research and Development, Advanced Measurement & Data Modelling

The human body is designed for effectively extracting nutrients from the food we eat. The nutrients provide the body with energy, but in addition, they also provide the building blocks for cell growth. More recently, it has also been realised that specific food ingredients can be associated with a direct stimulating effect on our health. Examples are the multiple unsaturated fatty acids and plant sterols which actively reduce blood cholesterol levels. Others are flavonoids; natural antioxidants found at large quantities in tea, red wine, cocoa, fruits and vegetables. For example, a diet rich in flavonoids is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. In particular, consumption of tea, grape (juice), and red wine has been shown to improve markers of vascular function.

Some food ingredients are absorbed quickly, without major conversion; others persist to the colon where they are extensively metabolised. For improving our understanding of their presumed health effects, gaining insight into the metabolic fate of healthy food ingredients is essential. (more…)

New Food Digital Issue 3 2010

Past issues / 7 May 2010 /

This issue features the latest industry news and forward looking articles including:

• Simultaneous determination of regulatory mycotoxins using immunoaffinity columns in conjuction with either HPLC or LC-MS/MS
  Claire Milligan, R-Biopharm Rhone Ltd
• Preparing for the R22 refrigerants ban – Ozone Depleting Substances Regulation: HCFC (R22) phase-out
  Brian Young, Director-General, British (more…)

LC-MS/MS based quantitative methods for multiple mycotoxins in food

Issue 1 2009 / 20 February 2009 / Michael Sulyok, Rainer Schuhmacher & Rudolf Krska, Centre for Analytical Chemistry, Department for Agrobiotechnology, IFA Tulln, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna

Since the introduction of atmospheric pressure ionisation liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (API-LC-MS) in the early 1990s, there was a continuous effort to further improve the performance of the LC-MS instruments concerning sensitivity and robustness. One result of this development is the trend towards methods that are designed to simultaneously analyse a large number of analytes with little or even without any sample clean-up and/or analyte enrichment. It is evident that this approach exhausts the capabilities of the mass spectrometers to the extreme. In this article, the difficulties that are usually encountered during the development of such a multi-analyte method are discussed using the example of mycotoxins.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites that are produced by moulds upon the infection of grains, fruits and vegetables as well as processed food. Another route of exposure is the inhalation of mycotoxin-containing fungal spores in damp indoor environments. From the approximately 300-400 substances that are currently recognised as mycotoxins, only a few are addressed by legislation e.g. in Commission Regulation 1881/2006. Even these few compounds exhibit a considerable chemical diversity (Figure 1) ranging from polar (e.g. deoxynivalenol, patulin) to apolar (zearalenone) and acidic substances (fumonisins). In addition, not all of these substances are UV-active or fluorescent. This certainly complicates matters considering a simultaneous detection of these compounds and has therefore led to a large number of analytical methods dealing only with one compound class, which often includes a dedicated clean-up (reviewed1). However, this approach results in an enormous expenditure of time and costs if a sample has to be tested for several classes of mycotoxins. (more…)

A farm to fork approach to lower acrylamide in food

Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 13 June 2008 / Frédéric Mestdagh and Bruno De Meulenaer, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium

In 2002, Swedish researchers discovered that within certain foods, significant levels of acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen formed during heating processes such as frying, roasting or baking. Free asparagine and reducing sugars were indicated as the most important precursors. Over the past few years, significant progress has been made to reduce acrylamide formation.

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Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in food analysis

Issue 1 2008, Past issues / 28 February 2008 / Dr. Mark Buecking, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Germany

The determination of organic trace compounds in food analysis is of major importance for food quality and food safety aspects. Both the separation of the analyte from potential inferences in the food matrix, as well as the qualitative and quantitative determination of the target compound, are vital steps in analytical food chemistry.

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Mycotoxin determination in foodstuffs

Issue 1 2007, Past issues / 7 March 2007 / S. Monbaliu, S. De Saeger and C. Van Peteghem, Ghent University, Laboratory of Food Analysis

This article focuses on the main principle of the liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) determination of mycotoxins in foodstuffs. It also provides an overview of recent developments in mycotoxin analysis.

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LC-MS/MS for safer seafood

Issue 2 2005, Past issues / 3 May 2005 / Kevin J. James, Mary Lehane, Brett Hamilton, Ambrose Furey, PROTEOBIO, Mass Spectrometry Centre for Proteomics and Biotoxin Research, Department of Chemistry, Cork Institute of Technology

Toxin contamination has forever been the curse on shellfish production worldwide. Dr Kevin J. James demonstrates how new technology can protect the health of shellfish lovers.

PROTEOBIO is at the forefront of food-borne biotoxin research in Europe and specialises in the development of novel methods to address the complex questions affecting food safety. The technologies used at PROTEOBIO to investigate biotoxins include liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), incorporating nanotechnologies, to seek solutions to problems related to trace contamination of foods by potent bioactive compounds that can seriously impact on human health. Some of the key activities and interests pursued at PROTEOBIO are summarised in Figure 1. The theme of this article however, is the centre’s approach to the investigation of toxins in edible bivalve molluscs, including mussels, scallops and oysters.

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