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(18-82) Analysis of endocrine disrupting compounds in freshwater and freshwater invertebrates. van Doornmalen, Jacco*,1, Weltje, Lennart1, Oehlmann, Joerg2, Markert, Bernd1, 1 International Graduate School (IHI), Zittau, Germany2 J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany ABSTRACT- Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are introduced into freshwater systems by various sources, including hospital and waste water effluents, agriculture, plastics production, and washing powder industry. They pose a serious threat to freshwater organisms, as effect concentrations have shown to be in the sub-nmol/l (water) or sub-nmol/kg (sediment) range in laboratory studies. The endocrine disrupting potency of a compound can only be demonstrated with living organisms themselves, as the uptake-effect route involves many unknown steps. Chemical analysis of certain points in the uptake-effect route, however, will help to understand the working mechanism of an EDC (bio-concentration, metabolism, etc.) and explain the effects. For this purpose, the applied analytical methods have to satisfy a number of conditions. First of all, they have to be sensitive enough to detect EDCs at their substantially low effect concentrations. In addition, matrix complexity, especially in case of organisms, requires extensive sample preparation and extraction steps. Further analyte preparations, like solvent change, preconcentration, and derivatisation, may be necessary in some cases before final analysis can take place. Analytical procedures were developed for EDCs belonging to different chemical classes and with different types of endocrine disrupting activities. Method development will be discussed and results of some accumulation studies with freshwater invertebrates will be shown. Key words: Endocrine disrupting compounds, Analysis, Sample preparation, Extraction techniques |
