Abstract
Snow crab is a major fishery in the North Atlantic region. During crab processing the proteins are aerosolized and some are responsible for development of occupational asthma. Tropomyosin and arginine kinase have recently been reported as major snow crab allergens. A liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed for simultaneous analysis of these two proteins in air samples collected from processing plants. These proteins were initially isolated then characterized by use of mass spectrometry to determine their primary structure and signature peptides. The signature peptides were chemically synthesized in light and heavy forms and used as standards for developing the multiple-reaction monitoring transitions to monitor allergen levels. A validation study was performed; precision and accuracy were 1.8–8% and 91–104%, respectively. Replicate air samples were collected on air filters from two crab-processing plants in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) and four located in Quebec. In NL, measured levels of both tropomyosin and arginine kinase were between 1 and 20 ng m−3. In Quebec plants, however, levels were found to be much higher at 2–2400 ng m−3. Significant differences were also observed among the plants and individual processing workstations. For the first time arginine kinase has been detected in its aerosolized form in processing plants. In general, levels of the allergens were highest in the butchering and cooking areas; plant design can, however, have a significant effect on levels of the allergens.
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Acknowledgements
This research was partially funded by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement Grant (ICH 62328) through the Safety Net Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research (Dr Barbara Neis). We would like to acknowledge the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), and the Department of Chemistry and IRSST for financial support. The clinical biochemistry laboratory in Eastern Health is also highly acknowledged for giving us access to the mass spectrometers.
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Abdel Rahman, A.M., Gagné, S. & Helleur, R.J. Simultaneous determination of two major snow crab aeroallergens in processing plants by use of isotopic dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 403, 821–831 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-5873-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-5873-2