Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling as an Alternative Tool for Biomonitoring of Multi-Mycotoxin Exposure in Resource-Limited Areas.

Arnau Vidal,Christophe Stove,Marthe De Boevre,Lidia Belova,Sarah De Saeger

doi:10.3390/toxins13050345

Arnau Vidal, Christophe Stove + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13050345

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Journal: Toxins	Publication Date: May 11, 2021
Citations: 7	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Ghent University

Abstract

Biomonitoring of biological samples arises as an effective tool to evaluate the exposure to mycotoxins in the population. Owing to the wide range of advantages, there is a growing interest in the use of non- and minimally invasive alternative sampling strategies, such as dried blood spot sampling or volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS). A VAMS-based multi-mycotoxin method was developed and validated for 24 different mycotoxins. Method validation was based on the Bioanalytical Method Validation Guideline of the Food and Drug Administration from the United States and for most of the studied mycotoxins, the results of the performance characteristics were in agreement with the criteria of the European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The recovery for the different mycotoxins was not haematocrit dependent and remained acceptable after storing the VAMS for 7 and 21 days at refrigeration temperature (4 °C) and room temperature, demonstrating that VAMS could be applied to assess mycotoxin exposure in blood in resource-limited areas, where there may be a delay between sampling and analysis. Finally, a comparison between VAMS and a procedure for liquid whole blood analysis, performed on 20 different blood samples, did not result in missed exposed cases for VAMS. Moreover, both methods detected similar levels of ochratoxin A, ochratoxin alpha, zearalenone and aflatoxin B1. Given all the benefits associated with VAMS and the developed method, VAMS sampling may serve as an alternative to conventional venous sampling to evaluate multiple mycotoxin exposure.

Highlights

IntroductionMycotoxins are present in a wide range of foods, from agricultural crops (maize, nuts, spices, wheat), cereal-based foods (baking products, pasta, breakfast cereals), beverages (fruits, juices and purees, beer and wine) and animal feed to dairy products [1,2,3]
Mycotoxins are present in a wide range of foods, from agricultural crops, cereal-based foods, beverages and animal feed to dairy products [1,2,3]
Despite the fact that the VAMSbased procedure had a somewhat higher limit of detection (LOD) and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) for some mycotoxins than the liquid whole blood-based procedure, no exposed cases were missed in this cohort, when applying volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS). These findings should be corroborated by a follow-up study, using larger cohorts, these findings suggest that blood collection with VAMS could be feasible to reliably assess mycotoxin exposure

Summary

Introduction

Mycotoxins are present in a wide range of foods, from agricultural crops (maize, nuts, spices, wheat), cereal-based foods (baking products, pasta, breakfast cereals), beverages (fruits, juices and purees, beer and wine) and animal feed to dairy products [1,2,3]. Patients must go to a hospital or a doctor’s office for a venous blood draw. For this reason, there lies an increasing attraction in the use of nonand minimally invasive alternative sampling strategies for biomonitoring of contaminants’ exposure [7]. The sampling procedure is accompanied by fewer difficulties with respect to sample handling, storage, and transport. All these advantages could be useful for biomonitoring mycotoxin exposure, especially in low and middle income countries, where mycotoxin exposure can be at dramatic levels [9] and equipment facilities are scarce [10]

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