A protocol for wide-scope non-target analysis of contaminants in small amounts of biota using bead beating tissuelyser extraction and LC-HRMS

This work describes a robust and powerful method for wide-scope target and non-target analysis of xenobiotics in biota samples based on bead beating tissuelyser extraction, solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up and further detection by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Unlike target methodologies, non-target methods usually aim at determining a wide range of still unknown substances with different physicochemical properties. Therefore, losses during the extraction process were minimised. Apart from that, the reduction of possible interferences showed to be necessary to expand the number of compounds that can be detected. This was achieved with an additional SPE clean-up step carried out with mixed-bed multi-layered cartridges. The method was validated with a set of 27 compounds covering a wide range of physicochemical properties, and further applied to the analysis of krill and fish samples. •The bead beating extraction was efficient for a wide range of organic pollutants in small quantities of biota samples. •Multi-layered solid phase extraction clean-up yield a wide xenobiotics coverage reducing matrix effects. •Method validation with 27 compounds led to a suitable method for non-target analysis of organic pollutants in biota.ICRA researchers thank funding from CERCA program. This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO): project PLAS-MED (CTM2017-89701-C3-2-R). SRM acknowledges the Ramon y Cajal program (RYC-2014-16707). This project has been funded by the Chilean Antarctic Institute through project RT_12_17. The Chilean Agency for Research and Development through the FONDAP initiative (grant no. 15150003) “Centro de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL)”; and “Anillos de Investigación en Ciencia Antartica (grant no. ANID-PIA-ACT-INACH Anillo ACT192057). IDAEA researchers acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Severo Ochoa, Project CEX2018-000794-S).Peer reviewe

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

A protocol for wide-scope non-target analysis of contaminants in small amounts of biota using bead beating tissuelyser extraction and LC-HRMS

This work describes a robust and powerful method for wide-scope target and non-target analysis of xenobiotics in biota samples based on bead beating tissuelyser extraction, solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up and further detection by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Unlike target methodologies, non-target methods usually aim at determining a wide range of still unknown substances with different physicochemical properties. Therefore, losses during the extraction process were minimised. Apart from that, the reduction of possible interferences showed to be necessary to expand the number of compounds that can be detected. This was achieved with an additional SPE clean-up step carried out with mixed-bed multi-layered cartridges. The method was validated with a set of 27 compounds covering a wide range of physicochemical properties, and further applied to the analysis of krill and fish samples. •The bead beating extraction was efficient for a wide range of organic pollutants in small quantities of biota samples. •Multi-layered solid phase extraction clean-up yield a wide xenobiotics coverage reducing matrix effects. •Method validation with 27 compounds led to a suitable method for non-target analysis of organic pollutants in biota.ICRA researchers thank funding from CERCA program. This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO): project PLAS-MED (CTM2017-89701-C3-2-R). SRM acknowledges the Ramon y Cajal program (RYC-2014-16707). This project has been funded by the Chilean Antarctic Institute through project RT_12_17. The Chilean Agency for Research and Development through the FONDAP initiative (grant no. 15150003) “Centro de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL)”; and “Anillos de Investigación en Ciencia Antartica (grant no. ANID-PIA-ACT-INACH Anillo ACT192057). IDAEA researchers acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Severo Ochoa, Project CEX2018-000794-S).Peer reviewe

Efeito de Brachiaria decumbens na herbivoria e no desenvolvimento de duas leguminosas nativas de cerrado Effect of Brachiaria decumbens on herbivory and development of two cerrado native leguminosae species

Este estudo avaliou o impacto da presença da gramínea exótica (Brachiaria decumbens) na herbivoria e no desenvolvimento de plântulas de espécies nativas (Hymenaea stigonocarpa e Dipteryx alata) de Cerrado. Para avaliar o impacto da presença da gramínea, 10 blocos em pastagem (antiga área de Cerrado) na Embrapa Gado de Corte (Campo Grande-MS) foram demarcados em janeiro de 2009. As gramíneas foram mantidas intactas em metade dos blocos e, na outra metade, foram removidas. Em cada tratamento, foram avaliados a herbivoria, a altura e o diâmetro na altura do solo (DAS) de 25 plântulas de cada espécie ao longo do ano. O conteúdo de carbono, nitrogênio e água das folhas também foi quantificado. Plântulas de Hymenaea stigonocarpa nos tratamentos com gramínea tiveram maior taxa de crescimento em diâmetro que as plântulas no tratamento sem gramíneas. As plântulas de Dipteryx alata que estavam no tratamento sem gramíneas tiveram maiores taxas de crescimento em altura que as do tratamento com gramíneas. Houve diferença na taxa de herbivoria de D.alata entre os tratamentos. As plântulas das duas espécies que estavam no tratamento com gramínea mostraram maiores concentrações de carbono e menores de água. O conteúdo de nitrogênio foliar foi maior no tratamento com gramíneas que no sem gramíneas em D.alata; já o nitrogênio em H. stigonocarpa não variou entre os tratamentos. Esses resultados mostram que cada espécie nativa possui distintas respostas fisiológicas e suscetibilidade à herbivoria em ambientes sob competição de recursos com a gramínea exótica, B. decumbens.<br>This study evaluated the impact of the presence of the exotic grass (Brachiaria decumbens) on the herbivory and development of seedlings of native species (Hymenaea stigonocarpa and Dipteryx alata) of the Cerrado. Thus, 10 pasture plots (former Cerrado) at the Embrapa Gado de Corte (Campo Grande-MS) were demarcated in January 2009. The grasses were kept intact in half of the plots and were removed in the other half. In each treatment, the herbivory, as well as height and diameter at ground level (DGL) of 25seedlings of each species were evaluated during one year. Carbon, nitrogen and water content of the leaves in each treatment were also quantified. Seedlings of Hymenaea stigonocarpa in plots without grasses had higher diameter growth rates than seedlings in plots with grasses. Dipteryx alata seedlings grown in plots without grasses had a higher height growth rate than seedlings grown in plots with grasses. There was a difference in the herbivory rate of D. alata between treatments. Seedlings of plots with grasses for the two species showed a higher concentration of carbon and lower amount of water. The leaf nitrogen content was higher in plots with grasses than without grasses in D. alata, while nitrogen in H. stigonocarpa did not vary between treatments. These results showed that each native species had distinct physiological responses and susceptibility to herbivory in environments under resource competition with the exotic grass B. decumbens

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world’s rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals