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Method Development for the Isolation and Determination of Prymnesin Toxins in Ambient Water
Citation:
Tettenhorst, D., J. Morgan, S. Decelles, W. Thoeny, AND J. Lazorchak. Method Development for the Isolation and Determination of Prymnesin Toxins in Ambient Water. To be Presented at Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North America Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, November 14 - 18, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
Prymnesium parvum is an invasive algal species that forms harmful algal blooms (HABs) in inland environments and is responsible for devastating fish kills causing ecological and economic damage. While progress has been made in developing approaches to manage P. parvum blooms, many knowledge gaps and research needs remain. Much uncertainty remains in identifying toxic chemicals produced by P. parvum and under what environmental conditions those toxins are produced. The research will develop a method to quantify prymnesin toxins in ambient water and provide information for ecological toxicity studies.A long term goal is to attempt to characterize the extent of contamination in lakes around the United States.
Description:
Prymnesium parvum is an invasive algal species that forms harmful algal blooms (HABs) in inland environments and is responsible for devastating fish kills causing ecological and economic damage. While progress has been made in developing approaches to manage P. parvum blooms, many knowledge gaps and research needs remain. Much uncertainty remains in identifying toxic chemicals produced by P. parvum and under what environmental conditions those toxins are produced. The lack of commercially available standards complicates the development of a quantitative mass spectrometric method for prymnesin toxins. Toxins must be harvested from P. parvum and then isolated for use as analytical reference materials. While blooms of P. parvum have been documented in the eastern hemisphere since the early 1900s, blooms in the western hemisphere only started in the mid-1980’s, and then only localized in the south-central USA. The first confirmed blooms of P. parvum in North America were identified in Texas in 1985 on the Pecos River. A rapid proliferation of blooms in the western hemisphere occurred during the early 2000s, with reports happening in 23 states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Washington, Hawaii, New Mexico, Wyoming, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. Blooms now occur in all southern regions of the USA and some northern regions. The US EPA has taken steps to improve the analytical methodology available for the detection and quantification of HABs. Data will be presented describing the isolation and purification of two prymnesin toxins from a P. parvum culture (UTEX LB 2797, Texas) to be used as reference standards. P. parvum cultures were conducted at 20 oC, 16h light:8h dark, under a light intensity of 20 µmol/m 2 /s using a F/2 media in artificial sea water. The standards will be used to develop a quantitative procedure to measure the prymnesin toxins in ambient water using solid phase extraction (SPE) with liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/QTOFMS). Precision and accuracy data for various SPE sorbents and preservative combinations in deionized and ambient waters will be presented. Stability test results for primary dilution standards, liquid chromatography parameters, and results of preliminary aqueous and extract holding time studies will be shown.