Pesticides and personal care products are two very important groups of contaminants posing a threat to the aquatic environment and the organisms living in it.. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the effects of widely used pesticides and parabens on aquatic non-target biota such as fish (using model organisms Danio rerio and Cyprinus carpio) and amphibians (using model organism Xenopus laevis) using a wide range of endpoints. The first part of the experiment was focused on the embryonal toxicity of three widely used pesticides (metazachlor, prochloraz, and 4-chloro-2-methyl phenoxy acetic acid) and three parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben) with D. rerio, C. carpio, and X. laevis embryos. An emphasis was placed on using mostly sub-lethal concentrations that are partially relevant to the environmental concentrations of the substances studied. In the second part of the study, an embryo-larval toxicity test with C. carpio was carried out with prochloraz using concentrations 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 µg/L. The results of both parts of the study show that even the low, environmentally relevant concentrations of the chemicals tested are often able to affect the expression of genes that play either a prominent role in detoxification and sex hormone production or indicate cell stress or, in case of prochloraz, to induce genotoxicity.

• Keywords
• MCPA, butylparaben, metazachlor, methylparaben, prochloraz, propylparaben,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

The release of pharmaceuticals into the environment induces adverse effects on the metabolism of humans and other living species, calling for advanced remediation methods. Conventional removal methods are often non-selective and cause secondary contamination. These issues may be partly solved by the use of recently-developped adsorbents such as molecularly imprinted polymers. Here we review the synthesis and application of molecularly imprinted polymers for removing pharmaceuticals in water. Molecularly imprinted polymers are synthesized via several multiple-step polymerization methods. Molecularly imprinted polymers are potent adsorbents at the laboratory scale, yet their efficiency is limited by template leakage and polymer quality. Adsorption performance of multi-templated molecularly imprinted polymers depends on the design of wastewater treatment plants, pharmaceutical consumption patterns and the population serviced by these wastewater treatment plants.

• Keywords
• Contaminated water, Limitations, Molecularly imprinted materials, Pharmaceuticals, Remediation,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

In the present study, the effect of polycyclic musk compound tonalide (AHTN) in two concentrations was studied in male rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum 1792). A feeding trial was conducted with AHTN incorporated into feed granules. One concentration was environmentally relevant (854 µg/kg); the second one was 10× higher (8699 µg/kg). The fish were fed twice a day with the amount of feed at 1 % of their body weight. After an acclimatization period, the experimental phase in duration of six weeks followed. At the end of the experiment, fish were sampled and the biometrical data were recorded. Subsequently, hematological and biochemical tests, histopathological examination, analysis of oxidative stress markers and evaluation of endocrine disruption using plasma vitellogenin were performed. In conclusion, an increase of hematocrit for both AHTN concentrations was found, but no significant changes were observed in biochemical profile. Moreover, AHTN caused lipid peroxidation in caudal kidney tissue, which was confirmed by histopathological images. The long-lasting AHTN exposure could thus be harmful for maintaining homeostasis in the rainbow trout organism. However, the vitellogenin concentration seemed not to be affected by AHTN.

• MeSH
• Endocrine Disruptors toxicity   MeSH
• Liver drug effects   metabolism   pathology   MeSH
• Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated toxicity   MeSH
• Kidney drug effects   metabolism   pathology   MeSH
• Oncorhynchus mykiss blood   metabolism   MeSH
• Oxidative Stress drug effects   MeSH
• Lipid Peroxidation drug effects   MeSH
• Fish Proteins blood   MeSH
• Tetrahydronaphthalenes toxicity   MeSH
• Vitellogenins blood   MeSH
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug MeSH
• Gills drug effects   metabolism   pathology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Male MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• acetyl methyl tetramethyl tetralin MeSH Browser
• Endocrine Disruptors MeSH
• Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated MeSH
• musk MeSH Browser
• Fish Proteins MeSH
• Tetrahydronaphthalenes MeSH
• Vitellogenins MeSH