Κατεύθυνση Αναλυτική Χημεία-Διασφάλιση ποιότητας
Library of the School of Science

2024-06-25

2024

Panopoulou Konstantina

Νικόλαος Σ. Θωμαΐδης, Καθηγητής Τμήμα Χημείας ΕΚΠΑ (Επιβλέπων)
Αθηνά Μάρκου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια Τμήμα Χημείας ΕΚΠΑ,
Όλγα Αρβανίτη, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια Τμήμα Χημείας ΕΚΠΑ

Systematic monitoring of organic environmental pollutants in apex predator samples using high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques.

English

Systematic monitoring of organic environmental pollutants in apex predator samples using high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques.

In recent decades, the increased presence of the anthropogenic factor has contributed to the intense accumulation of organic pollutants in the environment. The term "emerging organic pollutants" includes a wide range of chemicals that have not yet been fully controlled, affecting both human health and the rest of the ecosystem. Although they usually occur at low levels of concentrations, they are distributed through various routes in the terrestrial and aquatic environment, increasing the indicators of environmental burden and often leading to bioaccumulation phenomena. This makes it important to systematically monitor them, which is achieved through biomonitoring, providing useful information on levels of pollutants and ways to prevent them. Particularly about top predators, their long-life expectancy, their position in the food chain, and their temporal and spatial exposure to chemical compounds, offer interesting insights into the potential adverse properties of these compounds.
The purpose of this study is to determine the chemical footprint of organic pollutants by applying a generalized pre-treatment protocol and using high-resolution mass spectrometry and targeted analysis protocols to cover a wide range of analytes with different physicochemical properties. In the framework OSPAR TIER II project, 14 biota samples and sediments from areas of the UK, Ireland, Spain, The Netherlands and Belgium were collected and analyzed to identify organic pollutants as well as to investigate their accumulation profile in different matrices.
In total, 69 organic pollutants from various classes of chemical compounds were identified. The main categories were industrial chemicals, pharmaceutical compounds, and plant protection products. In addition, the presence of metabolites and conversion products demonstrates the power of high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques in understanding the "chemical footprint" of emerging pollutants in the environment. Therefore, the simultaneous monitoring of emerging pollutants, metabolites and transformation products is very important to carry out a reliable risk assessment, considering the potential harmful effects of both the parent compound and its conversion products and metabolites.

Science

Emerging Contaminants, Biomonitoring, Apex predators, Target Analysis, High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

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7

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40

105

File access is restricted until 2027-06-28.

https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/3401820