Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. XIV
Written by Valentina Andreea CĂLMUC, Mădălina CĂLMUC, Carmen CHITESCU, Silvia DRĂGAN, Cătălina ITICESCU, Puiu-Lucian GEORGESCU
The Somova-Parcheș Aquatic Complex is part of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and hosts a wide variety of fauna and flora species of community importance. This complex is fed with a significant volume of water from the Danube River, thus influencing the quality of the lake ecosystems. For this reason, the present study aims to investigate the presence of certain classes of pharmaceutical residues in water sampled from 6 lakes, namely Somova, Parcheș, Morun, Potica, Babele, Câșla, as well as their ability to accumulate in the tissues of fish collected from the same study area. Extraction of pharmaceutical compounds was performed using the solid phase extraction method for water samples and the QuEChERS method for fish tissues. Results obtained from analyses using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry revealed the presence of the pharmaceutical compound caffeine in most water samples and its tendency to accumulate in some fish organs, such as the gills.
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