Objective
Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are a class of potentially dangerous substances which are not defined by chemical nature but by biological effects. EDCs are an increasing environmental problem in Europe. Only poor knowledge exists about the behavior of EDCs in the process of waste water treatment. Most scientists are working on the assumption, that steroids in the influent of WWTPs are present as conjugates, derivates or free steroids. For example the assumption on 17-ethinyl estradiol is, that this EDC exists for 1 % in its free form and for 99 % as glucuronides or sulfates. This has never been proved. Neither is known how this EDC for example is reacting in the WWTP, nor is known how much of this EDC or its metabolites are ending up in the sludge or in the waste water effluent. There is no information about the formation of free steroids during the process of waste water treatment. Waste water effluents and agriculturally recovered sewage sludges are two important pathways for the distribution of EDCs in the aquatic environment. EDCs in the sewage sludge can be washed out ( run off`') and distributed into surface and ground water. To describe the impacts on ground water and surface water it is necessary to know more about waste water born and sludge born EDCs.
To expand the knowledge on EDCs in different waster treatment processes the project will:
1) study the behavior of EDCs in surface water. water works, surface water treatment plants (SWTPs), and waste water treatment plants (WWTPs); 2) make available and adapt bioanalytical tools (bioassays and biosensors) that respond to a broad range of EDCs by effects, rather than by chemical identification and allow to trace, to quantify, and to detect EDCs in complex samples; 3) validate the bioassay and biosensor measurements by comparing their data with established and rugged instrumental analytical techniques, using known endoestrogens and xenoestrogens.
The present project deals with one of the possible ways to address these problems by the development of different biosensors, biomarkers and receptor assay systems that will carry out different experiments like (i) quantification of biomarker levels for EDCs exposure to aquatic species, (ii) in vitro EDC assays based on natural steroid receptors,(iii) continuos flow receptor assays using EDC detection coupled to liquid chromatography (iv) functional receptor assays based on cell-models and on proteinDNA and protein-protein interactions and (v) vitellogenin immunoassays. Validation of different biosensors data for determining EDCs in the WWTP, water works and surface waters will be carried out by novel solid phase and affinity chromatographic methods followed by liquid chromatographymass spectrometric measurements.
The proposers research developments will answer to the increasing demand for more shaightforward instrumentation and biochemical effect studies on EDCs. Water treatment industry will be specially favored by the developments achieved through the present project.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors biosensors
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences hydrology
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Coordinator
14195 BERLIN
Germany
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