LC-MS/MS method for the determination of tetrodotoxin (TTX) on a triple quadruple mass spectrometer

ABSTRACTTetrodotoxin (TTX), often referred to as the ‘puffer fish’ poison, is a marine toxin and it has been identified as the agent responsible for many food poisoning incidents around the world. It is a neurotoxin that blocks voltage-gated sodium channels, resulting in respiratory paralysis and even death in severe cases. It is known to occur in many different species of fish and other organisms. The toxin is mainly found in the Southeast Asia region. Worryingly, TTX is starting to appear in European waters. It is suspected that this is a consequence of Lessepsian migration, also known as the Erythrean invasion. Therefore, straightforward and reliable extraction and analytical methods are now urgently required to monitor seafood of European origin for TTX. This paper provides a versatile, dependable and robust method for the analysis of TTX in puffer fish and trumpet shellfish using LC-MS/MS. A three-stage approach was implemented involving: (1) the screening of samples using fast multiple reaction moni...