Development of a Microwave-Assisted Extraction Protocol for the Simultaneous Determination of Mycotoxins and Pesticide Residues in Apples by LC-MS/MS  
[PERSON]  
1 Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
2 Pesticide Science Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.G.M. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (U.M.-S.)  
[PERSON]  
2 Pesticide Science Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.G.M. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (U.M.-S.)  
[PERSON]  
3 Laboratory of Plant Pathology, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
1 Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
2 Pesticide Science Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.G.M. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (U.M.-S.)  
Footnote 2: email: {N.P.K.} Footnote 3: email: {N.P.K.} Footnote 4: email: {N.P.K.} Footnote 5: email: {N.P.K.} Footnote  
are used, which can be harmful to human health and the environment [5; 6]. Among plant pathogens, the mycotoxicigenic fungi _Alternaria_ spp. and _Penicillium expansum_ are mainly responsible for the production of mycotoxins in apples, which can be harmful to humans and animals. _Alternaria_ is a ubiquitous fungal genus that causes pre- and postharvest damage to agricultural products and along with _Penicillium expansum_ and a few other pathogens causes up to 25% losses of total apple yield during postharvest storage and transport [4]. These postharvest apple losses are both quantitative due to fruit decay and qualitative due to possible mycotoxin contamination. Considering that large amounts of apple fruit are used for juice, the presence of mycotoxins is important for human consumption [2; 4]. _Alternaria_ species (e.g., _A. alternata_) produce more than 70 secondary metabolites, but only a few of them have been structurally identified and reported as mycotoxins [5]. Among these Alternaria toxins, altenuene (ALT), alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), tentoxin (TEN), and tenuazonic acid (TEA) are the main ones of concern. Up to now, there are no specific international regulations for _Alternaria_ mycotoxins in food and feed, and with the recent report, EFSA concludes that there is a need to develop more sensitive analytical methods and obtain more analytical data on _Alternaria_ toxins in fruit and fruit products. Because of the potential presence of both mycotoxins and pesticides in agricultural products, methods for the simultaneous determination of these contaminants improve the time and reduce the cost of analysis. Therefore, the development of rapid, effective, high-throughput, and reliable multiresidue methods (MRMs) to verify food safety and integrity is required [6; 7]. To such an end, robust analytical methodologies have been proposed in the literature with the aim of determining a large number of contaminants in a single run, including pesticides and mycotoxins that need to be monitored to guarantee the quality and safety of agricultural products. However, it is a demanding task to develop and apply a single analytical method for the simultaneous determination of a diverse group of compounds. Several strategies have been proposed in the literature based on capillary electrophoresis [8] and gas chromatography (GC) [9]. Several liquid chromatography (LC) methodologies report the simultaneous determination of a large number of contaminants in a single run [10].