# Enhancing food contaminant surveillance capacity using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with UV/fluorescence detection

> **NIH FDA U18** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA · 2021 · $173,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
The University of Missouri (MU) Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (VMDL) is the only full-service
veterinary diagnostic laboratory accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory
Diagnosticians (AAVLD) in the state of Missouri. For over thirty years, the MU VMDL’s Diagnostic Toxicology
and Analytical Chemistry Section (DTACS) has provided critical analytical support to detect a variety of
potential toxicants, especially aflatoxins and ergopeptine alkaloids that contaminate livestock feeds and pet
foods. Because these and other food contaminants can not only harm animals but can also result in the
presence of contaminant residues in foodstuffs intended for human consumption, the food contaminant
surveillance activities of Vet-LIRN must be sensitive, accurate, rapid, and cost-effective. The VMDL DTACS is
fully committed to expand its analytical capacity to better support statewide, regional, and national diagnostic
needs, as well as increase participation in Vet-LIRN’s surveillance efforts intended to reduce the incidence of
foodborne illness in animals and humans. Dr. Xiangwei Du, DTACS Analytical Chemist, and Dr. Tim Evans,
DTACS Head, will serve as Co-Principal Investigators. Dr. Du has expertise in working with Vet-LIRN and the
development and optimization of diagnostic methods. While helping the FDA to determine the scope of a
recent pet food contamination involving aflatoxins, Du and Evans concluded that the high-performance liquid
chromatographic (HPLC) separation methods used by the DTACS could no longer provide optimal and
consistent measurement of very low concentrations of common food contaminants in diagnostic samples and
could not adequately meet Vet-LIRN’s high-volume, rapid-response needs in instances of widespread livestock
feed or pet food contamination. Given the financial constraints facing many public, land-grant universities,
including MU, the efforts of the MU VMDL DTACS to update its analytical capabilities must proceed in a
strategic and stepwise manner. The replacement of HPLC instrument capabilities with ultra-performance liquid
chromatography (UPLC or UHPLC), will provide four times faster sample processing and at least five times
greater contaminant detection resolution than HPLC. This upgrade will immediately enhance the analytical
capabilities of the DTACS diagnostic services, provide a platform for future analytical capacity expansion, and
allow increased participation in Vet-LIRN’s food contaminant surveillance efforts. The Specific Aims of this
grant proposal are 1) purchase a new UPLC with UV and fluorescence detectors; 2) optimize methods using
UPLC to measure mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins and ergopeptine alkaloids, in various different matrices;
and 3) develop new methods using UPLC to measure cannabinoids and other analytes, particularly those of
interest to Vet-LIRN, in selected matrices. Accomplishment of these Specific Aims will sufficiently expand the
anal...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10449808
- **Project number:** 1U18FD007511-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Xiangwei (Shaun) Du
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $173,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-06 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10449808

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10449808, Enhancing food contaminant surveillance capacity using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with UV/fluorescence detection (1U18FD007511-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10449808. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*