β-cyclodextrin polymer as tetrodotoxins scavenger in oyster extracts

Tetrodotoxins (TTXs) are potent marine neurotoxins involved in poisoning cases in humans after consumption of some marine organisms. A cell-based assay (CBA) providing toxicological information is a commonly used method for their detection because of its high sensitivity. However, matrix effects may interfere in the CBA. In this work, five insoluble cyclodextrin polymers, with different chemicals structures (βCDP-14-DS2, βCDP-13-DS2, βCDP-13-DS4, βCDP-14-DS4 and βCDP-N-DS5) have been investigated as novel clean-up materials for oyster extracts containing TTXs. The best recoveries have been achieved with βCDP-14-DS2 (∼100 %), which allowed exposing cells to 27-fold higher oyster matrix concentrations and decreased the LOQ down to 46 µg equiv. TTX/kg. Then, the applicability of this strategy has been demonstrated with oyster extracts from The Netherlands and comparing the results with immunoassay and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This clean-up strategy combined with CBA could be implemented for TTXs detection in monitoring programs to ensure seafood safety.