Suspect screening of pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, pesticides, and other emerging contaminants in Argentinean Piaractus mesopotamicus, a fish species used for local consumption and export

CARRIZO, JUAN CRUZ; VO DUY, SUNG; MUNOZ, GABRIEL; MARCONI, GUIDO; AMÉ, MARÍA VALERIA; SAUVÉ, SÉBASTIEN

CHEMOSPHERE

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2022 vol. 309

0045-6535

he widespread distribution of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) is a major concern due to their potential effects on human health and the environment. The insufficient sewage treatment plant infrastructures is a global problem most accentuated in less developed countries and results in the discharge of CECs to water bodies. Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) is a ray-finned freshwater fish species native to the Paraná basin. It is also the most produced aquaculture fish species in Argentina since 2012. Though uninvestigated to date, the occurrence of CECs in pacu may be of high relevance due to production volumes and relevance to human exposure through fish consumption. In this study, we applied a high-resolution mass spectrometry screening method to qualitatively analyze over 100 CECs in pacu. Four extraction/cleanup methods were tested on pooled pacu fillet, including solid-phase extraction and QuEChERS. The method that produced the highest number of detections was selected for fu