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1A - Environmental analytical methods (MOP/15) Determination of natural and synthetic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in sediments and organisms from a coastal environment. Pojana, Giulio1, Bonfà, Angela1, Collarin, Anna 1, Gomiero, Alessio1, Marcomini, Antonio1, 1 Departement of Environmental Sciences, University of Venice, Venice, Italy ABSTRACT- Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are receiving an increasing attention due to their wide occurrence in the aquatic environment and their potential hazard to aquatic organisms. The relatively low specificity of estrogen receptor makes not only natural hormones but also many synthetic chemicals capable of estrogenic activity. A comprehensive evaluation of the potential impact of EDCs toward an ecosystem cannot be made only with a trustworthy quantitation of their residual concentrations in aqueous compartments, since sorption to bed sediments, as well as bioconcentration along the food-chain, increase the potential hazard posed by many EDCs with relatively low polarity. We report in this work an analytical method for the simultaneous extraction/purification/determination of natural (estradiol, estrone, estriol) and synthetic (nonylphenol, octylphenol, nonylphenol monoethoxylate carboxylate, bisphenol-A, benzophenone, mestranol, ethinylestradiol, diethylstilbestrol) EDCs in sediments and biota. The method is based on sonication followed by HPLC separation coupled with Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry. The high sensitivity and selectivity of the MS detector permitted to achieve remarkably low limits of detection: 0.2-1 ng/g (dry weight). The developed analytical method was applied to the determination of the selected EDCs in sediments and organisms from the lagoon of Venice (Italy), an highly urbanized coastal water ecosystem where treated industrial and municipal effluents from mainland, together with raw municipal wastewaters, are discharged in the lagoon waters. Key words: sediments, endocrine disrupting compounds, organisms, environment |
