Retention Index Aids Mycotoxin LC–MS Comparisons

Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by molds that can harm people and animals, and they are a major concern for agriculture because they regularly occur in food and feed. Laboratories usually test for them using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), but each laboratory tends to develop its own method tailored to its local needs, using different instruments, columns, and solvents. As a result, hundreds of different methods are in use, which makes it hard to compare results from one laboratory to another. Newly discovered “hidden” or modified forms of mycotoxins (mycotoxin metabolites) complicate things further.