Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a global public and environmental health concern. Research has suggested that frequency and intensity of HAB events have increased over the past few decades. Anthropogenic factors, source water nutrient load, and climate change, are three major variables that have seeded the increased frequency of HAB events. In United States, microcystin is the most prevalent freshwater cyanotoxin. To date, over 160 congeners of microcystin of have been reported. The main exposure routes are drinking and recreational waters. In May 2015, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted an age dependent microcystin drinking water health advisory and announced a recreational water health advisory will be release in 2016. In order to protect human and environmental health, robust and sensitive analytical methods must be created to detect microcystin in drinking water, urine/blood, and tissue samples. Dr. Westrick’s group of undergraduate researchers has created a series of semi-synthetic microcystins to use in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry quantification methods. Her group is responsible for the surrogate (C2D5 – monoethyl ester microcystin) in EPA Method 544. And more recently, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) synthesizing microcystin LR-cysteine and microcystin-glutathione adducts to be used as standards to quantify the microcystin and microcystin metabolites in blood, urine, and tissue. The synthetic pathway, reaction monitoring, isolation, and characterization of the semi-synthetic microcystin will be discussed.

Semi-synthetic microcystins and their role in public health

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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