This can be a problem for all multi-target methods and has to be assessed in further studies.
The exclusion of compounds for some assays regarding this problem could be beneficial for the performance of multi-target methods.
Still, such multi-target methods have to cope with huge differences in the relevant toxin concentrations.
A major advantage of LC-MS-based multi-target methods is the increased sample throughput compared to single-analyte methods.
Furthermore, none of the present multi-target methods using stable isotope dilution assays covers all mycotoxins regulated in maize.
A drawback of most multi-target methods is that they require extensive validation which is time- and cost-consuming and, hence, often reduced to a minimum.
Most multi-target methods were developed for the measurement of raw cereals, whereas data on the performance characteristics in other matrices like nuts are scarce.
As with all multi-target methods, the major bottleneck regarding sample throughput is data evaluation, which is quite laborious and time-consuming.
During the last years, single analyte methods for the detection and quantification of mycotoxins are more and more replaced by multi-target methods for the simultaneous determination of different yet co-occurring classes of mycotoxins.
Regarding cleanup, multi-target methods use simple "dilute-and-shoot" approaches [ 4, 5, 7, 10], solid phase extraction [ 6, 11, 12], MycoSep® columns [ 13], immunoaffinity columns [ 14] and, recently, also QuEChERS [ 8, 15, 16].
Early multi-target methods for the determination of mycotoxins in food dealing with a large number of analytes (e.g. [ 7]) employed time periods for which only certain analytes are measured to allow enough dwell time for each analyte.
