Abstract
An adequate supply of standard reference material for paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) is critical for the accurate chemical quantification using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescent detection, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), biological analysis of these toxins using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunochromatography. Large batch cultivation for the chain forming species G. catenatum, producers of PSTs of N-sulfocarbamoyl-11-hydroxysulfate toxins (C1 and C2), gonyautoxin 5 (GTX5) and gonyautoxin 6 (GTX6), was investigated using 10 L round-bottom flasks with aeration for the production of GTX5 and GTX6. Aeration rates of 200 mL/min and 500 mL/min were compared, demonstrating that the 500 mL/min aeration rate was adequate to eliminate aggregation of cells. The highest cell density of G. catenatum in 500 mL/min aeration treatment was 9,878 ± 2,617 cells/ml on day 28. Total toxin yield during 10 L cultivation with 500 mL/min aeration was calculated at 30.9 ± 3.6 µmol on day 25, with GTX5 and GTX6 calculated at 3.9 ± 0.7 µmol and 11.4 ± 1.4 µmol, respectively. This simple aeration method will contribute to the more efficient production of PST reference materials.