Spectrodensitometric determination of trichothecene mycotoxins with 4-(p-nitrobenzyl)pyridine on silica gel thin-layer chromatograms.

A simple method for the detection and spectrodensitometric determination of a number of trichothecene mycotoxins on silica gel layers based on a colour reaction between 4-(p-nitrobenzyl)pyridine and the 12,13-epoxy group in the trichothecene nucleus is described. The detection limits for the twelve trichothecenes examined were 0.025--0.2 micrograms per spot. Further, six of the twelve trichothecenes could be determined spectrodensitometrically in the range from ca. 0.05--0.2 to 10 micrograms per spot with a coefficient of variation of ca. 5%.