4. Analytical principles of detection and/or assay

4.1 General principles of mycotoxin analysis

For the analysis of mycotoxins (figure 6 ), which are usually present in trace amounts in foodstuffs (i.e. in quantities of less than ppb, or less than µg/kg) - matrices which are considered analytically complex - there is a whole range of methods based essentially on the principle of chromatographic separation of molecules, followed by their detection by spectrophotometry or fluorimetry. Physical-chemical methods such as thin-layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC) or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) enable mycotoxins to be quantified.