Determination of organic pollutants in Anguilla anguilla by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

© 2021 The Authors.

One of the aspects considered about the presence of contaminants in the aquatic ecosystems is their possible effect on critically endangered species, as the case of European eel, Anguilla anguilla. However, there is a lack of analytical methods to determine these contaminants due to the complexity of eel matrix (contains 5–20 % of lipids and 5–15 % of proteins). Thus, a multi-residue method using QuEChERS extraction a clean-up based on new specific sorbents (to eliminate lipids) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed to determine a mix of 21 contaminants. Compared to the previously reported methods (Degani et al., 1986), which were developed for mussels, in this study, one of the proposed extraction methods were adapted to different fish tissues of higher complexity, such as liver and muscle of A. anguilla. The effectivity of dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) using new specific Enhanced Matrix Removal (EMR-lipid) as clean-up for lipid removal was tested. Clean extracts of matrices with high protein (5–15 %) and lipid (5–20 %) content were obtained ensuring robustness and durability of the analytical systems. Emerging contaminants extractable by this procedure comprise four different families (pesticides, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse). Then, it could be further applied to wide scope screening strategies.

The research that led to these results received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the project WETANDPAC (RTI2018-097158-B-C31) and from the Generalitat Valenciana through the project ANTROPOCEN@ (PROMETEO/2018/155). R. Álvarez-Ruiz acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the ERDF for his FPI grant BES-2016-078612.