Title: Application of a steroid receptor-based battery of CALUX bioassays for water quality control analysis

Auteur(s): van der Linden SC ; Heringa M ; Puijker L ; Van der Burg B ; Brouwer A ;  ; 

Year: 2007

Journal: Organohalogen Compounds

Subject(s): CALUX ; bioassay ; analysis ; monitoring ; environment ; endocrine ; estrogen ;  ; 

Summary: Monitoring the quality of the aquatic environment by analyzing a (limited) defined set of compounds can impossibly be translated into the biological effects of the mixture. A group of aquatic contaminants that raised concern about possible biological effects are endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). Research has focussed on compounds that interfere with the binding of natural hormones to nuclear hormone receptors including thyroid hormone, sex hormone, stress hormone, vitarnin D3 and retinole acid receptors. Current emphasls of EDC research lies on the measurement of estrogenic and androgenic compounds. In this study, a panel of CALUX bioassays testing for estrogen (ERa CALUX, androgen (AR CALUX, pmgesterone (PR CALUX, glucocorticoid (GR CALUX') and thyroid (TRbeta CALUX) receptor (agonlstic and antagonistic) activity has been applied to extracts of STP effluents (industrial and municipal), surface water and drinking water. The results show that the CALUX panel can successfully be applied to complex samples such as waste water and surface water extracts. With the CALUX panel, different types of hormone receptor agonistic activity could be detected in the effluent and surface water samples, but none in the drinking water. No antagonistic activity could be determined in any of the samples.