Effect-directed analysis of a hospital effluent sample using A-YES for the identification of endocrine disrupting compounds
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Date
2022-12Author
López Herguedas, Naroa
González Gaya, Belén
Cano, Alicia
Álvarez Mora, Iker
Mijangos Treviño, Leire
Etxebarria Loizate, Nestor
Zuloaga Zubieta, Olatz
Olivares Zabalandicoechea, Maitane
Prieto Sobrino, Ailette
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Science of The Total Environment 850 : (2022) // Article ID 157985
Abstract
An effect-directed analysis (EDA) approach was used to identify the compounds responsible for endocrine disruption in a hospital effluent (Basque Country). In order to facilitate the identification of the potentially toxic substances, a sample was collected using an automated onsite large volume solid phase extraction (LV-SPE) system. Then, it was fractionated with a two-step orthogonal chromatographic separation and tested for estrogenic effects with a recombinant yeast (A-YES) in-vitro bioassay. The fractionation method was optimized and validated for 184 compounds, and its application to the hospital effluent sample allowed reducing the number of unknowns from 292 in the raw sample to 35 after suspect analysis of the bioactive fractions. Among those, 7 of them were confirmed with chemical standards. In addition, target analysis of the raw sample confirmed the presence of mestranol, estrone and dodemorph in the fractions showing estrogenic activity. Predictive estrogenic activity modelling using quantitative structure-activity relationships indicated that the hormones mestranol (5840 ng/L) and estrone (128 ng/L), the plasticiser bisphenol A (9219 ng/L) and the preservative butylparaben (1224 ng/L) were the main contributors of the potential toxicity. Derived bioanalytical equivalents (BEQs) pointed mestranol and estrone as the main contributors (56 % and 43 %, respectively) of the 50 % of the sample's explained total estrogenic activity.