A multiresidue approach for the simultaneous quantification of antibiotics in macroalgae by ultra-high performance
Sara Leston1, Andreia Freitas2, João Rosa1
1CFE-Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; CNC-Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Health Sciences Campus, Pharmacy Faculty, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Abstract:
Together with fish, algae reared in aquaculture systems have gained importance in the last years, for many purposes. Besides their use as biofilters of effluents, macroalgae's rich nutritional profiles have increased their inclusion in human diets but also in animal feeds as sources of fatty acids, especially important for the fish industry. Nonetheless, algae are continuously exposed to environmental contaminants including antibiotics and possess the ability for bioaccumulation of such compounds. Therefore, the present paper describes the development and validation of an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantification of antibiotics in the green macroalgae Ulva lactuca. This multi-residue method enables the determination of 38 compounds distributed between seven classes and was fully validated according to EU Decision 2002/657/EC.
