Targeted metabolomics of Gammarus pulex following controlled exposures to selected pharmaceuticals in water

Cristian Gómez-Canela, Thomas Miller, Nicholas Richard Bury, Romà Tauler, Leon Patrick Barron

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)
192 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on aquatic organisms represent a significant current concern. Herein, a targeted metabolomics approach using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is presented to characterise concentration changes in 29 selected metabolites following exposures of aquatic invertebrates, Gammarus pulex, to pharmaceuticals. Method performance revealed excellent linearity (R2>0.99), precision (0.1-19 %) and lower limits of detection (0.002-0.20 ng) for all metabolites studied. Three pharmaceuticals were selected representing the low, middle and high range of measured acute measured toxicities (of a total of 26 compounds). Gammarids were exposed to both the no-observed-adverse-effect-level and the lowest-observed-adverse-effect-level of triclosan (0.1 and 0.3 mg L-1), nimesulide (0.5 and 1.4 mg L-1) and propranolol (100 and 153 mg L-1) over 24 hrs. Quantitative metabolite profiling was then performed. Significant changes in metabolite concentrations relative to controls are presented and showed distinct clustered trends for each pharmaceutical. Approximately 37 % (triclosan), 33 % (nimesulide) and 46 % (propranolol) of metabolites showed statistically significant time-related effects. Observed changes are also discussed with respect to internal concentrations of the three pharmaceuticals measured using a method based on pulverised liquid extraction, solid phase extraction and LC-MS/MS. Potential metabolic pathways that may be affected by such exposures are also discussed. This represents the first study focussing on quantitative, targeted metabolomics of this lower trophic level benthic invertebrate that may elucidate biomarkers for future risk assessment.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)777–788
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume562
Early online date22 Apr 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Aug 2016

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