VALUTATION OF OFFICIAL MOUSE BIOASSAY FOR THE DETECTION OF LIPOPHILIC MARINE TOXINS

The official biotoxicological (MBA) method for the determination of lipophilic marine toxins shows important gaps with regard to reproducibility, specificity and quality of the data provided and serious ethical contraindications. The Commission Regulation (EU) No 15/2011 establishes the date of December 31, 2014 as the deadline for replacement of the mouse test with a LC-MS/MS method by the laboratories of the member states responsible for the monitoring of marine biotoxins. In order to facilitate the interpretation of the MBA during this transition period, we further evaluated the specificity and selectivity of this assay in comparison with a LC-MS/MS method in detecting lipophilic marine toxins on mussels of the middle Adriatic Sea. Data show a high percentage of false-positive results on MBA due to interference by yessotoxins. It was also possible to evaluate the toxic profile of the samples analyzed