Toxicology

Research objective.
The overall objective of the research performed within the field of toxicology and environmental chemistry is to obtain a broad chemical understanding of the fate and effects of pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds, including metabolites and degradation products thereof. The research involves both occurrence and toxicity studies which allows for an in-depth understanding of the environmental distribution and the risks associated with the release of such compounds to nature. Pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and antiparasitics a long with endocrine disrupting chemicals are of particular interest.
The three main research areas are: I) Development of analytical methodologies to quantify pharmaceuticals and degradation products and other bioactive compounds in various matrices such as plasma, tissue, soil, manure, surface water, ground water. II) Occurrence and fate studies including distribution and degradation of pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds. III) Toxic effects of pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds in humans and biota including in vitro and in vivo bio-assay studies on toxic mechanisms.
I) Important elements in most research projects are analytical methods for quantification of the compounds in tissue, soil, manure, surface water etc. Therefore, development of analytical methods including sample preparation, separation techniques coupled to ultra violet, fluorescence or mass spectrometry detection is an essential research area.
II) Understanding of occurrence and environmental distribution of active compounds in the environment is achieved by analysing a large number of samples from various regions and matrices of interest. Knowledge on fate and bioavailability is obtained from different laboratory test systems including bioreactors. The bioreactors are utilised to study the degradation of chemicals in the environment such as suspensions of manure, sludge, soil etc. Furthermore, various test systems are employed to study metabolism as well as photodegradation and hydrolysis.
III) Knowledge about the toxic effects of pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds are central to the use of such compounds. In vitro cell lines and enzyme assays are used to investigate toxic effects to humans. In vitro and in vivo bioassays are implemented in ecotoxicology to study the effects of bioactive compounds on biota when released into the environment. Of particular importance are endocrine disrupters, interfering with hormone homeostasis in vertebrates.

Recent master projects performed in the research group.
The temperatures impact on environmental risk assessment of the SSRI sertraline performed on Daphnia magna in chronic and acute tests (2010).
Individual and combined effects on three well-known endocrine disrupters on the steroidogenesis in H295R cells (2010).
Hæmning af aromatasekomplekset (CYP19) i den humane MCF-7 brystkræft cellelinje med selektive serotonin genoptagshæmmere (2009)
Lægemidlers og kemikaliers østrogene og antiøstrogene effekter enkeltvis og i blanding med hinanden i MCF-7 celler (2009)
Anvendelse af laboratorieforsøg til belysning af abiotisk og biotisk nedbrydning af sulfadiazine - med fokus på kinetik og dannelse af nedbrydningsprodukter (2009)
Hæmning af human aromatase kompleks (CYP19) med selektive serotonin reuptake inhibitors in vitro (2009)
Miljørisikovurdering af tre antidepressive lægemidler - herunder hospitalernes indflydelse på den samlede eksponering af vandmiljøet (2007)

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Forskningsgruppens hjemmeside
Toksikologi og Miljøkemi 

Specialevejledere
Alle vejledere sidder på 4 sal i bygning 10 Sydblokken

Bent Halling-Sørensen
Professor
E-mail: bhs(at)farma.ku.dk
Telefon: 35 33 64 53
Rum: 10/462b
Specialer
F.eks: Hormonforstyrrende stoffer

Kristine A. Krogh
Lektor
E-mail: kak(at)farma.ku.dk
Telefon: 35 33 64 83
Rum: 10/458
Specialer
F.eks: Antibiotikas nedbrydning i miljøet

Erland Björklund
Lektor
E-mail: ebj(at)farma.ku.dk
Telefon: 35 33 62 80
Rum: 10/462a
Specialer
F.eks: Udvikling og validering af en multimetode til analyse af 33 lægemidler i dansk overfladevand ved hjælp af en SPE metode koblet til LC-MS/MS.

Bjarne Styrishave
Lektor
E-mail: bst(at)farma.ku.dk
Telefon: 35 33 62 65
Rum: 10/460
Specialer
F.eks: Hormonforstyrrende stoffer

Martin Hansen
Post. doc.
E-mail: mah(at)farma.ku.dk
Telefon: 35 33 62 65
Rum: 10/460
Specialer
Udvikling og validering af en multimetode til analyse af 33 lægemidler i dansk overfladevand ved hjælp af en SPE metode koblet til LC-MS/MS.

Frederik Knud Nielsen
Ph.d. studerende
E-mail: fkn(at)farma.ku.dk
Telefon: 35 33 64 71
Rum: 10/457
Specialer
Hormonforstyrrende stoffer

Tidligere specialer udført i gruppen:

Miljørisíkovurdering af tre antidepressive lægemidler - herunder hospitalernes indflydelse på den samlede eksponering af vandmiljøet (2007)