Kristine A. Krogh
E-mail: kak(at)farma.ku.dk
Telefon: 35 33 64 83
Rum: 10/458

Effect-directed analysis: identification of hazardous environmental degradates from antibiotics and antiparasitics
In Denmark, hundreds of tons of antibiotics and antiparasitics are consumed every year, both in the human sector but also in the veterinary sector. Until now, only limited knowledge about the fate of these compounds in the environment is available. Furthermore, the potential ecotoxicological side-effects of the degradation products are unknown. The degradation of a selected antibiotic or antiparasitic is investigated in surface water, waste water or slurry, depending on the whether it is applied for human or veterinary purposes. The degradation rate and the formation of degradation products are investigated in the chosen laboratory test system and the mixture of degradates are tested for ecotoxicological effects (e.g. antibacterial inhibition test, algae toxicity, daphnia toxicity). State-of-the-art toxic ratio analysis will assist to identify if the transformation products possess a higher toxic potential than then parent compound. In case of a higher toxic potential, the degradation products are isolated for structure identification utilizing the best available approach (e.g. preparative HPLC, low and high resolution mass spectrometry) and an in-depth investigation of the ecotoxicological effects.
Contact persons: Kristine A. Krogh (kak(at)farma.ku.dk), Martin Hansen (mah(at)farma.ku.dk) and Bent Halling-Sørensen (bhs(at)farma.ku.dk).

Occurrence and risks of ionophores in the Danish environment
Questions have arisen about which the effects veterinary medicines have on organisms in the environment. Ionophores are antiparasitic compounds extensively used worldwide as prophylactic chemotherapeutics and growth promoters in livestock production. Ionophores are antibiotic drugs that form lipid soluble complexes with, primarily, alkali cations that inhibit or kill pathogenic parasites in livestock. Several reports have revealed that ionophores are emerging environmental contaminants in agricultural run-off waters, surface waters, sediments, and ground waters, due to their continuously increased and constant application as feed additives in modern livestock production. This project will focus on the development and application of new analytical methods for investigating the occurrence of ionophores in the Danish environment. The methods are based on liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) combined with pressurized liquid extraction and/or solid-phase extraction. Based on the obtained data, potential risks of ionophores in the environment can be outlined.
Contact persons: Erland Björklund (ebj(at)farma.ku.dk), Martin Hansen (mah(at)farma.ku.dk) and Kristine A. Krogh (kak(at)farma.ku.dk)

Development, validation and application of multi-residue methods for the analysis of drugs in environmental matrices using PLE and SPE connected to LC-MS/MS
In the terrestrial and aquatic environment, drugs may have a range of unintended effects on flora and fauna. To prevent high levels of toxic substances that may in the long run threaten water-living organisms as well as humans, monitoring pollution in the environment is important. Drugs constitute a large group of chemicals which are important to monitor since they are discharged into the environment via for example pasture animals and waste water plants. Analyses of drugs are expensive because they require liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry together with intensive sample preparation. Therefore, it is advantageous to analyse several drugs in the same environmental sample. Since the chemicals have different physical and chemical properties and behave differently during purification and analysis, thorough method optimisation and validation is required. This project aims to develop multi-residue methods which can be used to measure the occurrence of drugs in soil, sediment manure, sewage, surface water, cleaned waste water and groundwater for obtaining an overview of the occurrence of these drugs in the environment.
Contact persons: Erland Björklund (ebj(at)farma.ku.dk), Martin Hansen (mah(at)farma.ku.dk) and Kristine A. Krogh (kak@farma.ku.dk)

 Safe water for food
Production of foods requires water and climate changes will further aggravate the problems with limited fresh water resources in many African countries. Agriculture in the future will depend on the use of low quality water for irrigation, in particular for the increasing urban productions. This project will address these challenges by doing both risk assessment-based and policy-oriented research in Ghana and Tanzania that will allow farmers safely to use low quality water for food production. The content of pharmaceuticals in particular antibiotics and antimalarials in low quality water will be investigated as well as the potential agricultural plant uptake of pharmaceuticals. Parts of this project may be conducted in Ghana or Tanzania, Africa.
Contact persons: Kristine A. Krogh (kak(at)farma.ku.dk), Bjarne Styrishave (bst(at)farma.ku.dk), Martin Hansen (mah(at)farma.ku.dk) and Erland Björklund (ebj(at)farma.ku.dk