Bioconcentration of pharmaceuticals in benthic marine organisms (Holothuria tubulosa, Anemonia sulcata and Actinia equina) exposed to environmental contamination by atenolol and carbamazepine.

The present work assess the bioconcentration kinetics of atenolol (ATN) and carbamazepine (CBZ) in common marine organisms including Holothuria tubulosa, Anemonia sulcata and Actinia equina under controlled laboratory conditions. CBZ exhibited higher uptake and excretion rates resulting higher bioconcentration factor (BCF) (41-537 L/kg for CBZ vs 7-50 L/kg for ATN) although both are below the limits established by the European Union (EU). The measured BCF using kinetic data showed some differences with those predicted using the concentrations measured at the steady-state, probably explained because the steady state was not ready reached. The animal-specific BCF followed the order of Holothuria tubulosa > Actinia equina > Anemonia sulcata for ATN while was the opposite for CBZ. The study highlighted between-tissues differences in the digestive tract and the body wall of the Holothuria tubulosa. The work presented is the first to model bioconcentration of ATN and CBZ in holothurian and anemone animal models.

Accumulation and metabolization of the antidepressant venlafaxine and its main metabolite o-desmethylvenlafaxine in non-target marine organisms Holothuria tubulosa, Anemonia sulcata and Actinia equina.

The assessment of exposure to the antidepressant venlafaxine and its major metabolite o-desmethylvenlafaxine in Holothuria tubulosa, Anemonia sulcata and Actinia equina is proposed. A 28-day exposure experiment (10 µg/L day) followed by a 52-day depuration period was conducted. The accumulation shows a first-order kinetic process reaching an average concentration of 49,125/54342 ng/g dw in H. tubulosa and 64,810/93007 ng/g dw in A. sulcata. Venlafaxine is considered cumulative (BCF > 2000 L/kg dw) in H. tubulosa, A. sulcata and A. equina respectively; and o-desmethylvenlafaxine in A. sulcata. Organism-specific BCF generally followed the order A. sulcata > A. equina > H. tubulosa. The study revealed differences between tissues in metabolizing abilities in H. tubulosa this effect increases significantly with time in the digestive tract while it was negligible in the body wall. The results provide a description of venlafaxine and o-desmethylvenlafaxine accumulation in common and non-target organisms in the marine environment.

Improved method for the determination of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in urine of school-age children using microliquid-liquid extraction and UHPLC-MS/MS.

The presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in our daily life is increasing every day and, by extension, human exposure and the consequences thereof. Among these substances are bisphenols and parabens. Urine is used to analyze the exposure. The determination of 12 bisphenol homologues and 6 parabens is proposed. A procedure based on a method previously developed by our research group in 2014 is improved. The extraction yield is higher, because the new protocol is 5 times more efficient. Also, a comparison between calibration with pure standards and matrix calibration, to calculate the matrix effect, was also made. A high grade of matrix effect for all analytes was observed. In terms of validation, the limits of detection (LOD) were between 0.03 and 0.3 ng mL-1 and limits of quantification (LOQ) 0.1 to 1.0 ng mL-1, respectively, and the recovery is higher than 86.4% and lower than 113.6%, with a RSD lower than 13.5% in all cases. A methodology for accurate and sensitive quantification of bisphenol homologues together with parabens in human urine using UHPLC-MS/MS was developed. The method was successfully applied to 30 urine samples from children.