Electron ionisation mass spectrometry of the pentafluoropropionate esters of trichothecene analogues and culmorin compounds from Fusarium species.

This paper reports the mass spectra, obtained after electron ionisation (EI) at 70 eV, of 34 trichothecenes and five culmorin compounds after acylation with pentafluoropropionic anhydride. The derivatised fungal metabolites were separated by gas chromatography, and the mass spectra were obtained by scanning of a single quadrupole mass filter in the scan range m/z 200-900. The fragmentation pathways of three trichothecenes (triacetyl-deoxynivalenol, 4,15-diacetoxy-scirpenol, T-2 toxin) have been studied in more detail by linked scan-high-resolution mass spectrometry. The most common trichothecenes are today more often routinely analysed using LC/MS-based methodologies. However, EI-MS may give complementary structural information, and the data that are summarised in this article may help to identify analogues of one of the largest class of mycotoxins, the tricothecenes, as well as culmorin compounds that are commonly co-produced by Fusarium culmorum and F. graminearum in cultures or naturally contaminated samples.