Development of a Method for the Determination of Fusarium Fungi on Corn Using Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy with Attenuated Total Reflection and Chemometrics

A novel method, which enables the determination of fungal infection with Fusarium graminearum on corn within minutes, is presented. The ground sample was sieved and the particle size fraction between >250 and 100 μm was used for mid-infrared/attenuated total reflection (ATR) measurements. The sample was pressed onto the ATR crystal, and reproducible pressure was applied. After the spectra were recorded, they were subjected to principle component analysis (PCA) and classified using cluster analysis. Observed changes in the spectra reflected changes in protein, carbohydrate, and lipid contents. Ergosterol (for the total fungal biomass) and the toxin deoxynivalenol (DON; a secondary metabolite) of Fusarium fungi served as reference parameters, because of their relevance for the examination of corn based food and feed. The repeatability was highly improved by sieving prior to recording the spectra, resulting in a better clustering in PCA score/score plots. The developed method enabled the separation of samples with a toxin content of as low as 310 μg/kg from noncontaminated (blank) samples. Investigated concentration ranges were 880−3600 μg/kg for ergosterol and 310−2596 μg/kg for DON. The percentage of correctly classified samples was up to 100% for individual samples compared with a number of blank samples.