Validation of Carbamate Pesticide Screen for VetLRN Network

The toxicology section of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System is submitting a grant proposal for the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine's Funding Opportunity Announcement number PA-13-244, titled:" Vet-LIRN Cooperative Agreement Program to Expand and Validate Testing Methods for Food Contaminants in Animal Diagnostic Specimens (U18)". CAHFS Toxicology is a member of the Vet-LIRN network. We are applying for a full 5 years of funding. We propose that within the first three years of funding we will validate the performance of a qualitative screening method for carbamate pesticides in feed, rumen (or stomach) content and liver. Carbamates are highly toxic insecticides, with current pesticide use registrations. They are found both in agricultural and home environments. These matrices are ones we commonly encounter in our diagnostic laboratory, and represent the common matrices that may be collected from an animal exposure situation. During the fourth year we propose validating a method for the analysis of Ricinine in liver. Ricinine is a biomarker of the bioterrorism agent Ricin. During the fifth year we propose validating a method for the mycotoxins Roquefortine and Penitrem-A in stomach content. For each method we propose following the AOAC guidelines Level Three: Multi-Laboratory Validation. While these guidelines require that at minimum two labs validate a method, we are proposing at least three labs collaborate in this validation effort. The methods are all qualitative, and are all performed on an LC/MS platform. Performance characteristics of these instruments can vary widely due to differences in ion source design between different manufacturers. Therefore, having the methods validated on a variety of brands of instruments will enhance the robustness of the methods and ensure that they will be widely applicable in other Vet-LIRN member laboratories.