With the objective in mind of developing a standardized analytical method for the detection and
quantitation of cyanobacterial toxins, there are two key factors to consider: the toxins
comprise a large class of compounds; and, there are very few analytical standards
available for evaluation. With these considerations in mind, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Ground
Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) Technical Support Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
hosted an Algal Toxin Workshop in the Spring of 2001. Experts in the field of
cyanobacterial research attended and provided advice on the toxins that should be the
focus of method development efforts. EPA subsequently chose to concentrate efforts on
four microcystin congeners (-LR, -LA, -YR, and -RR), cylindrospermopsin, and
anatoxin-a was reached. Only four of the six cyanotoxins (microcystins -LR, -YR, and -
RR, and anatoxin-a) are available commercially. EPA obtained the remaining
cyanotoxins under contract from two groups: Microcystin-LA was purified from an
Australian bloom by Dr. Glen Shaw's group in Australia, and cylindrospermopsin was
purified from cultures prepared in the laboratory of Dr. Wayne Carmichael at Wright
State University in Ohio. Two additional microcystins, -LW and -LF, that were not on
the original method development priority list were added because standards of acceptable
purity became commercially available. Initial method development work was directed towards producing a single standardized
method for all of the cyanotoxins. However, stability data reported in the literature
combined with preliminary experimental separations and an examination of the structures
of the cyanotoxins indicated that separate analytical methods would be required. These methods are discussed in the paper. Includes 15 references, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 250 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 5 |
| Published : | 11/02/2003 |
