Unit:
Department of ChemistryLibrary of the School of Science
Author:
Alygizakis Nikiforos
Dissertation committee:
Δρ. Jaroslav Slobodnik, Διευθυντής του Environmental Institute
Δρ. Αναστάσιος Οικονόμου, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Χημείας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Δρ. Νικόλαος Θωμαΐδης, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Χημείας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Δρ. Ειρήνη Παντερή, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Φαρμακευτικής, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Δρ. Εμμανουηλ Δασενάκης, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Χημείας, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Δρ. Ευάγγελος Γκίκας, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Φαρμακευτικής, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Δρ. Ιωάννης Ντότσικας, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Φαρμακευτικής, Ε.Κ.Π.Α.
Original Title:
Development of novel methodologies for the identification of unknown compounds in the environment employing non-target screening and high-resolution mass spectrometry
Translated title:
Development of novel methodologies for the identification of unknown compounds in the environment employing non-target screening and high-resolution mass spectrometry
Summary:
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are unable to remove many contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) efficiently, and therefore introduce them into the aquatic environment, where they form complex chemical mixtures containing typically thousands of individual substances. When analysed by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), these complex mixtures produce a high number of signals. To successfully translate these complex data into information required by environmental monitoring programmes, implementation of wide-scope target, suspect and non-target screening using powerful computational tools and related databases is required.
The objective of the thesis was to develop novel workflows employing state-of-the-art target, suspect and non-target screening tools and apply them on samples obtained from important European ecosystems such as the Danube River Basin (DRB) and the Black Sea (BS).
In this context, an introduction on CECs, workflows and techniques for their identification is presented in Chapter 1, which is followed by the scope of the thesis in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 describes a non-target screening (NTS) workflow capable to prioritise compounds that exhibit large variation in their signal intensity over time (trend-analysis), which was used to detect events of direct disposal or sudden changes in the use of substances in WWTP of Athens. Chapter 4 describes the establishment of a decentralised global emerging contaminant early-warning network to assess the spatial and temporal distribution using suspect screening. A platform to archive LC-HRMS data and apply wide-scope suspect screening of thousands of CECs, that incorporates all recent development in HRMS screening methods, is presented in Chapter 5. The platform was used to screen antibiotics and REACH chemicals in samples from BS (biota, sediment, seawater), various classes of CECs in wastewater from DRB (Chapter 6) and surfactants in wastewater samples collected within the national monitoring campaign in Germany (Chapter 7). Novel biomonitoring tools such as in vitro bioassays and analysis of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) supplemented NTS analyses of wastewater samples.
Main subject category:
Science
Keywords:
emerging contaminants, non-target screening, wide-scope target and suspect screening, Danube River Basin, Joint Black Sea Survey, German national monitoring campaign of wastewater effluents
Number of references:
223
