Limited analytical capacity for cyanotoxins in developing countries may hide serious environmental health problems: Simple and affordable methods may be the answer

Pírez, Macarena; González‐Sapienza, Gualberto; Sienra, Daniel; Ferrari, Graciela; Brena, Beatríz M.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.10.052

Cited by 35 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A prominent example is Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, where the first significant cyanobacte rial bloom occurred in 2008 and thereafter the blooms were increasingly serious with disastrous effects for the country [33,34]. In Uruguay, the Rio Uruguay and La Plata River estuarine …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison of two ELISA-based methods for the detection of microcystins in blood serum

Heussner

Winter

Altaner

et al. 2014

Chemico-Biological Interactions

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a b s t r a c tMicrocystins (MCs) are cyanobacterial toxins which place the public at risk via exposure to MC contam inated water, food or algal food supplements. Subsequent to the fatal intravenous exposure of dialysis patients in Caruaru, Brazil, several techniques (LC MS, GC MS and ELISA) were adapted to detect MCs in human serum. As patients chronically exposed to low concentrations of MCs also present with very low MC serum levels, only LC MS methodology would appear to allow detection of these MC levels. How ever, LC MS detection depends on the availability of respective MC congener standards and the levels of non covalently bound MC in the sample. In contrast, immunological techniques, e.g. MC ELISA poten tially could detect even covalently bound MC, provided the MC antibody was raised against an epitope found in nearly all of the MC congeners. As the Adda side chain moiety is present in nearly all of the MC congeners known to date, the anti Adda antibodies, when applied in Adda ELISAs, could represent a relatively simple and robust technique for the qualitative and quantitative determination of MC in human serum.The aim of the current study was to determine whether commercially available Adda ELISAs and their respective sample preparation methods would allow MC quantification in human serum. The Adda ELISA (polyclonal antibody) and the Adda ELISA (monoclonal antibody) kit for serum (Serum ELISA) were used for determination of the concentration dependent recovery of MCs in MC spiked serum.Human serum samples were spiked with varying concentrations of MCs (MC LR, YR, RR, LA, LW, LF and defined MC mixtures) and extracted using two different methods. MC spiked bovine serum and stan dard cell culture medium containing 10% FBS served to investigate potential matrix effects. Inter labora tory comparison was performed allowing identification of potential sources of error.The results suggest that both ELISAs are suitable tools for the analysis of MCs in human blood serum although both also displayed some weaknesses notably the time needed for sample preparation or the overestimation of some specific MC congener concentrations. Based on the ELISA detection ranges, sam ple concentration and/or MC spiking may be required for detection of low levels of MCs in human blood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…system, which is the fifth largest in the world, is similarly affected (33,35). For this system a program was initiated to exploit the potential of ELISAs to provide a low cost environmental analysis.…”

Section: ·---------------------------------mentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of two ELISA-based methods for the detection of microcystins in blood serum

Heussner

Winter

Altaner

et al. 2014

Chemico-Biological Interactions

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“…With this 30 fold increase in sensitivity, the method performs within a linear range of 7 – 5.000 μg/L, which is of great relevance for the intended application of the technique. Certainly, this range covers the reference values of < 15-25 μg/L that has been adopted by many countries as an immediate public health action level for recreational waters (Chorus, 2012), and it also covers the vast majority of the concentrations of these congeners found in fresh water reservoirs and needed to be monitored to manage the progression of cyanobacterial blooms (Pirez et al, 2013). High throughput spatial and temporal monitoring could substantially enhance our understanding of human health risks presented by cyanobacterial blooms and inform public health recommendations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To fulfill the sensitivity required by the WHO advisory level of <1 μg/L of MC-LR, these chromatographic methods often require large sample volumes, concentration and clean steps, as well as the sequential analysis of sample (Meriluoto et al, 2000)s. This processing makes the methods comparatively less attractive for screening purposes, particularly when large numbers of samples need to be analyzed on a regular basis within a timely fashion. To this end, other techniques, particularly immunochemical methods, are currently used to study the ecology of cyanobacterial communities or monitor the evolution of these communities in source or recreational waters (Pirez et al, 2013; Qin et al, 2010; Znachor et al, 2006). ELISA is a convenient option because it allows for the parallel analysis of large sample loads in a fast and cost efficient manner.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid quantitative analysis of microcystins in raw surface waters with MALDI MS utilizing easily synthesized internal standards

Roegner

Schirmer

Puschner

et al. 2014

Toxicon

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The freshwater cyanotoxins, microcystins (MCs), pose a global public health threat as potent hepatotoxins in cyanobacterial blooms; their persistence in drinking and recreational water has been associated with potential chronic effects in addition to acute intoxications. Rapid and accurate detection of the over 80 structural congeners is challenged by the rigorous and time consuming clean up required to overcome interference found in raw water samples. MALDI-MS has shown promise for rapid quantification of individual congeners in raw water samples, with very low operative cost, but so far limited sensitivity and lack of available and versatile internal standards (ISs) has limited its use. Two easily synthesized S-hydroxyethyl–Cys(7)-MC-LR and –RR ISs were used to generate linear standard curves in a reflectron MALDI instrument, reproducible across several orders of magnitude for MC –LR, - RR and –YR. Minimum quantification limits in direct water samples with no clean up or concentration step involved were consistently below 7 μg/L, with recoveries from spiked samples between 80 and 119%. This method improves sensitivity by 30 fold over previous reports of quantitative MALDI-TOF applications to MCs and provides a salient option for rapid throughput analysis for multiple MC congeners in untreated raw surface water blooms as a means to identify source public health threats and target intervention strategies within a watershed. As demonstrated by analysis of a set of samples from Uruguay, utilizing the reaction of different MC congeners with alternate sulfhydryl compounds, the m/z of the IS can be customized to avoid overlap with interfering compounds in local surface water samples.

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“…Cyanobacterial blooms and high concentrations of cyanotoxins have become frequent occurrences in the small reservoirs, dams, and ponds used for the water supply in developing countries and low‐income rural areas . The lack of drinking water treatment facilities combined with poor analytical capacity in developing countries has hindered assessment of the risks associated with the contamination of water supply resources with toxic cyanobacterial blooms and high cyanotoxin concentrations …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moringa‐Seed‐Based Coagulant Removes Microcystins Dissolved in Water

Gouvêa-Barros¹,

Bittencourt‐Oliveira

Paterniani

2019

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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Toxic cyanobacterial blooms commonly occur in bodies of water used to supply drinking water, leading to the presence of high concentrations of toxins in the water. Among the cyanotoxins, microcystins are the most frequently encountered in aquatic ecosystems. They have been associated with animal and human intoxication, illness, and death. Most of the chemical and physical methods employed by water control managers to control cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins are neither cost effective nor efficient. As an alternative, using natural coagulants that are biodegradable and easily deployed for water purification in small human communities have been proposed. In the present study, 28 assays are carried out using the jar test to investigate the effect of stirring rotation (time and speed), pH, and aqueous extracts of Moringa oleifera L. seeds (AqMO) on the cells, turbidity, and removal of Microcystis aeruginosa cells and extracellular microcystins. Cell removal efficiency ranged from −22.6 ± 1.3 to 85.8 ± 0.6%, and the reduction in turbidity ranged from −14.0 ± 3.1 to 87.4 ± 0.3% as a function of the different treatments. According to the critical value predicted, an AqMO dose of 540 mg L−1 combined with an initial cell density of 10 × 105 cells mL−1 will completely remove M. aeruginosa cells and significantly decrease extracellular microcystins content (ca. 54.4 ± 7.9%). These results show promise for the development of effective treatments of potable water contaminated with cyanobacteria and microcystins in rural and isolated areas, thereby reducing the public health risks associated with these organisms.

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Limited analytical capacity for cyanotoxins in developing countries may hide serious environmental health problems: Simple and affordable methods may be the answer

Cited by 35 publications

References 23 publications

Comparison of two ELISA-based methods for the detection of microcystins in blood serum

Comparison of two ELISA-based methods for the detection of microcystins in blood serum

Rapid quantitative analysis of microcystins in raw surface waters with MALDI MS utilizing easily synthesized internal standards

Moringa‐Seed‐Based Coagulant Removes Microcystins Dissolved in Water

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