title: Determination of tetramine in marine gastropods by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry.
abstract: Tetramine (tetramethylammonium ion) is found at high levels (several mg/g) in the salivary gland of buccinid gastropods and has been involved in numerous poisoning incidents after ingestion of those gastropods. A sensitive and selective determination method for tetramine, which is based on a combination of liquid chromatography (LC) and electrospray ionization-single quadrupole mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), was developed. Following separation by LC on a cation-exchange column, tetramine was easily detected by simultaneous monitoring of a molecular ion (m/z 74) at a cone voltage of 30 V and a fragment ion (m/z 58) at 70 V. A linear calibration curve was obtained in the range of 0.1-100 ng by plotting the peak areas of the molecular ion versus the amounts of tetramine. Spiking experiments demonstrated that tetramine in gastropod tissues can be determined by the LC/ESI-MS method, without being affected by sample matrices as well as the extration procedure. Applications of the new method to gastropod samples revealed that a small amount of tetramine is contained even in mid-gut gland and muscle and that tetramine in the salivary gland diffuses to other tissues during boiling and slow thawing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Konan-4, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagashima
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiomi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000737:chemistry; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000032:analysis*; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000737:chemistry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012908:Snails / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C027917:tetramethylammonium