Mycotoxin Screening

Mycotoxin testing uses LC-MS/MS to screen for toxic secondary metabolites produced by select Aspergillus species. Unlike microbial screening, which detects whether living organisms are present, mycotoxin analysis looks for the chemical byproducts those organisms leave behind. This distinction matters because a sample can return negative for active Aspergillus while still containing aflatoxins or ochratoxin produced during an earlier stage of contamination. The inhalation route makes this particularly significant. Mycotoxins that might be partially neutralized by the digestive system when ingested are delivered directly to lung tissue when inhaled, with no metabolic buffer in between. Aflatoxins are among the most potent naturally occurring carcinogens known, and ochratoxin A has documented nephrotoxic and immunosuppressive effects.