| Abstract | Although boronates bind reversibly to many vic-diols, and vic-diols are a common structural feature of many algal toxins, this boronate-diol interaction has not been exploited for clean-up and concentration of algal toxins. We have developed methodology for cleaning up and concentrating azaspiracids from mussel extracts using a polymer-bound boronic acid. The method removed the colour from the extract, as well as the majority of interferences and matrix effects normally seen in LC-MS analyses of azaspiracids in mussels. We then developed a modified approach using aryl boronates to selectively capture tetrodotoxin, which also contains a vic-diol, and many of its congeners. The tetrodotoxin analogues were selectively released from the boronate material to yield very clean extracts containing tetrodotoxin analogues and very little else. Potential interferences in LC-MS analyses, such as arginine and other amino acids, were completely eliminated, resulting in a simplified analysis. Boronate technology may also be useful for preparative purification of larger amounts of algal toxins for the preparation of reference materials and toxicological studies. We are now examining the applicability of boronate techniques to the analysis and purification of a range of other algal toxins that contain vic-diols, including ciguatoxins, palytoxins, pectenotoxins and the okadaic acid group. |
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