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Deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV) and zearalenone (ZEN) are toxic secondary metabolites produced by several species of Fusarium fungi. These mycotoxins are often found together in a large variety of cereal-based foods, which are regulated by maximum content levels of DON and ZEN. To date, suitable certified reference materials (CRM) intended for quality control purposes are lacking for these Fusarium mycotoxins. In order to overcome this lack, the first CRM for the determination of DON, NIV and ZEN in naturally contaminated wheat flour (ERM®-BC600) was developed in the framework of a European Reference Materials (ERM®) project. This article describes and discusses the whole process of ERM®-BC600 development, including material preparation, homogeneity and stability studies, and an interlaboratory comparison study for certification. A total of 21 selected expert laboratories from different European countries with documented expertise in the field of mycotoxin analysis took part in the certification study using various gas and liquid chromatographic methods. The certified values and their corresponding expanded uncertainties (k=2) were assigned in full compliance with the requirements of ISO Guide 35 and are as follows: 102±11 µgkg-1 for DON, 1000±130 µgkg-1 for NIV and 90±8 µgkg-1 for ZEN.
The degradation and epimerization of ergot alkaloids (EAs) in rye flour were investigated after baking cookies and subsequently subjecting them to an in vitro digestion model. Different steps of digestion were analyzed using salivary, gastric, and duodenal juices. The degradation and bidirectional conversion of the toxicologically relevant (R)-epimers and the biologically inactive (S)-epimers for seven pairs of EAs were determined by a HPLC method coupled with fluorescence detection. Baking cookies resulted in degradation of EAs (2–30 %) and a shift in the epimeric ratio toward the (S)-epimer for all EAs. The applied digestion model led to a selective toxification of ergotamine and ergosine, two ergotamine-type EAs. The initial percentage of the toxic (R)-epimer in relation to the total toxin content was considerably increased after digestion of cookies. Ergotamine and ergosine increased from 32 to 51 % and 35 to 55 %, respectively. In contrast, EAs of the ergotoxine type (ergocornine, α- and β-ergocryptine, and ergocristine) showed an epimeric shift toward their biologically inactive (S)-epimers. Further experiments indicated that the selective epimerization of ergotamine EAs occurs in the duodenal juice only. These results demonstrate that toxification of EAs in the intestinal tract should be taken into consideration.
Current trends in materials and life sciences are flanked by the need to push detection limits to single molecules or single cells, enable the characterization of increasingly complex matrices or sophisticated nanostructures, speed up the time of analysis, reduce instrument complexity and costs, and improve the reliability of data. This requires suitable analytical tools such as spectroscopic, separation and imaging techniques, mass spectrometry, and hyphenated techniques as well as sensors and their adaptation to application-specific challenges in the environmental, food, consumer product, health sector, nanotechnology, and bioanalysis. Increasing concerns about health threatening known or emerging pollutants in drinking water, consumer products, and food and about the safety of nanomaterials led to a new awareness of the importance of analytical sciences. Another important driver in this direction is the increasing demand by legislation, particularly in view of the 17 sustainable development goals by the United Nations addressing clean energy, industry, and innovation, sustainable cities, clean water, and responsible consumption and production. In this respect, also the development of analytical methods that enable the characterization of material flows in production processes and support recycling concepts of precious raw materials becomes more and more relevant. In the future, this will provide the basis for greener production in the chemical industry utilizing recycled or sustainable starting materials.
This makes analytical chemistry an essential player in terms of the circular economy helping to increase the sustainability of production processes. In the life sciences sector, products based on proteins, such as therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies, increase in importance. These increasingly biotechnologically produced functional biomolecules pose a high level of complexity of matrix and structural features that can be met only by highly advanced methods for separation, characterization, and detection. In addition, metrological traceability and target definition are still significant challenges for the future, particularly in the life sciences.
However, innovative reference materials as required for the health and food sector and the characterization of advanced materials can only be developed when suitable analytical protocols are available. The so-called reproducibility crisis in sciences underlines the importance of improved measures of quality control for all kinds of measurements and material characterization. This calls for thorough method validation concepts, suitable reference materials, and regular interlaboratory comparisons of measurements as well as better training of scientists in analytical sciences.
The important contribution of analytical sciences to these developments is highlighted by a broad collection of research papers, trend articles, and critical reviews from these different application fields. Special emphasis is dedicated to often-overlooked quality assurance and reference materials.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of priority organic pollutants, which contaminate environmental compartments, food, and consumer products as well. Due to their frequent occurrence associated with elevated Levels of PAHs, plastic and rubber parts of consumer products and toys are particular sources of exposure. Although European maximum levels exist for eight carcinogenic PAHs in consumer products and toys according to REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006, certified reference materials (CRM) are still not available. To overcome this lack, the first CRM for the determination of PAHs in rubber toys (BAM-B001) was developed according to the requirements of ISO Guide 35. The whole process of CRM development including preparation, homogeneity and stability studies, and value assignment is presented.
The assignment of the certified mass fractions was based upon in-house study at BAM using stable isotope Dilution analysis (SIDA) gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The obtained values were confirmed by the results of two interlaboratory comparison (ILC) studies with more than 50 expert laboratories from Germany and China. The mass fractions of 14 PAHs including all REACH and GS mark regulated compounds were certified ranging between 0.2 and 15.4 mg/
kg accompanied by expanded uncertainties (coverage factor k = 2). In addition, informative values were determined for 4 PAHs, mainly due to higher uncertainties and/or lack of ILC data for confirmation. BAM-B001 is intended for analytical quality control particularly based on the AfPS GS 2019:01 PAK method and contributes to improve the chemical safety of consumer products including toys.
Certified reference materials (CRMs) are a versatile tool for quality assurance in the chemical laboratory. In the case of acrylamide analysis, the availability of appropriate materials was rather limited. This lack of acrylamide matrix CRMs has now been overcome by the development of two European reference materials (ERM) for the determination of acrylamide in food (crispbread, ERM-BD272, and rusk, ERM-BD274). This article describes the preparation of the materials, provides the results of the homogeneity and stability studies, and presents and discusses the outcome of the certification studies. Expert laboratories from different European countries took part in the certification studies using various analytical methods. The acrylamide mass fractions were certified to 980 µg kg-1 for crispbread and 74 µg kg-1 for rusk.
Trichothecene mycotoxins, with T-2 and HT-2 toxins being the main representatives of the type A subgroup, are naturally and worldwide occurring contaminants frequently found in grain-based food and feed. Due to the high consumption of these products and the potential health risk associated herewith, concerns about the safety and quality of food and feed have increased over the last decades at both governmental and consumer levels. Since it is not possible to avoid their occurrence, tremendous efforts have been performed to identify and monitor mycotoxins in food and feed to make their consumption safe. However, suitable certified reference materials (CRMs) intended for quality assurance and quality control purposes are still lacking for many mycotoxin-matrix combinations. Therefore, in the framework of a European Reference Material (ERM®) project, the first CRM for T-2 and HT-2 toxin in ground oat flakes (ERM®-BC720) was developed according to the requirements of ISO Guide 35. The whole process of ERM®-BC720 development, including sample preparation, homogeneity and stability studies and value assignment, is presented. The assignment of the certified mass fractions was based upon an in-house study using high-performance liquid chromatography isotope-dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Simultaneously, an interlaboratory comparison study involving 24 expert laboratories was conducted in order to support the in-house certification study. The certified values and their corresponding expanded uncertainties (k=2) for both T-2 and HT-2 toxin in ERM®-BC720, traceable to the international system of units, are (82±4) µg kg-1 and (81±4) µg kg-1, respectively.
Zearalenone (ZEN), an estrogenic mycotoxin produced by several species of Fusarium fungi, is a common contaminant of cereal-based food worldwide. Due to frequent occurrences associated with high levels of ZEN, maize oil is a particular source of exposure. Although a European maximumlevel for ZEN in maize oil exists according to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1126/2007 along with a newly developed international standard method for analysis, certified reference materials (CRM) are still not available. To overcome this lack, the first CRM for the determination of ZEN in contaminated maize germ oil (ERM®-BC715) was developed in the frame of a European Reference Materials (ERM®) project according to the requirements of ISO Guide 35. The whole process of CRM development including preparation, homogeneity and stability studies, and value assignment is presented. The assignment of the certified mass fraction was based upon an in-house study using high-performance liquid chromatography isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Simultaneously, to support the in-house certification study, an interlaboratory comparison study was conducted with 13 expert laboratories using different analytical methods. The certified mass fraction and expanded uncertainty (k=2) of ERM®-BC715 (362± 22) μg kg−1 ZEN are traceable to the SI. This reference material is intended for analytical quality control and contributes to the improvement of consumer protection and food safety.
Since 1 January 2019 a maximum content of 0.6 mg kg−1 cadmium (Cd) in cocoa powder sold to the final consumer or as an ingredient in sweetened cocoa powder sold to the final consumer (drinking chocolate) is set by the Commission Regulation (EU) No. 488/2014. Monitoring compliance with the specified limit value requires analytical measuring methods and reference materials for quality control. However, suitable certified reference materials intended for quality assurance and quality control purposes are still lacking. Therefore, three cocoa reference materials (ERM®-BD513, ERM®-514 and ERM®-515) were developed according to the requirements of ISO 17034 and the recommendations of ISO Guide 35. The whole process of reference material development, including material preparation, assessment of homogeneity and stability, characterisation and value assignment is presented. The assignment of the certified mass fractions was based upon an interlaboratory comparison study involving 19 expert laboratories for Cd and 12 laboratories for acrylamide. The certified mass fractions and expanded uncertainties (k = 2) of the reference materials were (0.181 ± 0.009) mg kg−1 Cd (ERM®-BD513), (0.541 ± 0.024) mg kg−1 Cd (ERM®-BD514) and (0.690 ± 0.029) mg kg−1 Cd (ERM®-BD515). Acrylamide contents are given for information.