Passive Sampling for Neurotoxic Pollutants

Within the areas of analysing chemical contaminants in water and optimizing treatment management in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs), the CHEMIPARK project, led by Dr Cristian Gómez Canela, with the IQS Environmental Processes Engineering and Simulation Group (GESPA), has received funding (PID2023-148502OB-C22) within the National Plan of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities – State Research Agency, co-financed by the European Union, as a Knowledge Generation Project 2023 in Environmental Sciences and Technologies.

CHEMIPARK aims to develop and validate passive sampling methodologies to detect environmental pollutants and toxins, especially those with neurotoxic effects on living organisms, as well as their metabolomic and transcriptomic responses in aquatic organisms.

Exposure to complex mixtures of natural and synthetic chemicals seriously threatens water resources and, consequently, the health of living beings through ingestion or skin contact. In addition to the complexity and diversity of their composition, some of these pollutants are often present at trace levels (such as pharmaceutical and cosmetic products). The complexity of the water samples and the specific chemical distribution in time and place makes non-targeted analyses of toxic contaminants essential to monitor water quality, with sampling – spot or passive – being a key element for the detection and quantification of these pollutants. Passive sampling offers a comprehensive perspective over time along with increased sensitivity, making it suitable for the long-term monitoring and detection of pollutants at low concentration.

In the GESPA group, Dr Cristian Gómez has extensive experience in the use of this type of sampling for pollutants present in water and regularly collaborates with the Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies (IDAEA – CSIC), including on the PrecisionERA project. In a new collaboration, these researchers will carry out studies on the effects produced in aquatic organisms by environmental pollutants that may lead to diseases that affect the central nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease. Toxicology studies will be carried out at the IDAEA using Daphna magna and zebrafish (Danio rerio) models.

As to the CHEMIPARK project, IQS researchers will carry out aspects related to passive sampling and chemical analysis of neurotoxic pollutants. Specifically, the objectives of the CHEMIPARK project include:

• First, to develop new analysis techniques for emerging neuroactive pollutants, based on direct injection for less sample manipulation, without losing sensitivity in the analytical procedure.
• Then the group will establish new passive sampling strategies in WWTPs and water treatment plant outlets, similar to those previously developed in the PrecisionERA project. The aim is to carry out a complete sampling of emerging and persistent pollutants present in reclaimed, surface, and drinking water, such as drugs, PFAs, PCBs, or cyanotoxins.
• Finally, the responses of organisms to these pollutants and changes in the metabolome and transcriptome will be evaluated.
  

Analytical procedures will be optimized using the advanced analytical instrumentation of UHPLC-MS/MS (QTOF X500B, QTRAP® 7500, and ZenoTOF 7600) devices present in the IQS-SCIEX Demo Lab. These instruments enable the determination and quantification of both the contaminants present in the water samples and their metabolites in subsequent analyses of the biological samples, with a very high level of sensitivity.