Pharmaceuticals in the freshwater invertebrate, Gammarus pulex, determined using pulverised liquid extraction, solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Thomas H. Miller, Gillian L. McEneff, Rebecca J. Brown, Stewart F. Owen, Nicolas R. Bury, Leon P. Barron*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Citations (Scopus)
358 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The development, characterisation and application of a new analytical method for multi-residue PPCP determination in the freshwater amphipod, Gammarus pulex are presented. Analysis was performed using pulverised liquid extraction (PuLE), solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Qualitative method performance offered excellent limits of detection at <20ngg-1 for 18 out of 29 compounds. For quantitative application, linearity and precision were considered acceptable for 10 compounds across the ng-μgg-1 range (R2≥0.99; ≤20% relative standard deviation respectively). The method was applied to the analysis of G. pulex and river water sourced from six tributaries of the River Thames. Carbamazepine, diazepam, nimesulide, trimethoprim and warfarin were determined in G. pulex samples at low ngg-1 (dry weight) concentrations across these sites. Temazepam and diclofenac were also detected, but were not quantifiable. Six pharmaceuticals were quantified in surface waters across the eight sites at concentrations ranging from 3 to 344ngL-1. The possibility for confirmatory detection and subsequent quantification of pharmaceutical residues in benthic organisms such as G. pulex will enable further understanding on the susceptibility and ecological effects of PPCPs in the aquatic environment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)153-160
Number of pages8
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume511
Early online date23 Dec 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2015

Keywords

  • Emerging contaminants
  • Environmental analysis
  • Gammarus pulex
  • Occurrence

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