Detection Methods for Cyanobacterial Toxins

About this book

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, commonly occur in a variety of water types throughout the world. A variable but high proportion of the cyanobacterial blooms and scums, which can develop annually in lakes, reservoirs, canals and slow-flowing rivers, contain potent toxins. Although animal poisonings and human health problems associated with the ingestion of, or contact with, cyanobacterial scums have long been recognized, a developing understanding of the health hazards posed by the toxins requires that reliable, sensitive, specific and convenient methods are available for their detection and quantification. This volume examines the application of biological, toxicological, biochemical and physicochemical techniques in studies of cyanobacterial toxins. It outlines experiments that have identified at least 50 cyanobacterial compounds toxic to vertebrates.

Contents

Health Problems from Exposure to Cyanobacteria and Proposed Safety Guidelines for Drinking and Recreational Water; An Epidemiological Critique of Reports of Human Illness Associated with Cyanobacteria; Cyclic Peptide Hepatotoxins from Fresh Water Cyanobacteria Water Blooms Collected in the River Dnieper Reservoirs and Other Water Bodies from the European Part of Russia; Structural Analysis of Cyanobacterial Toxins; Determinations of Anatoxin-a, Homoanatoxin and Propylanatoxin in Cyanobacterial Extracts by HPLC, GC Mass Spectrometry and Capillary Electrophoresis; Enantiomer-specific Analysis of Homoanatoxin-a, a Cyanophyte Neurotoxin; Neurotoxins from Australian Anabaena; The Analysis of Microcystin-LR in Water; Application in Water Treatment Studies; The Analysis of Microcystins in Raw and Treated Water; Application of HPLC and Mass Spectrometry (MALDI) to the Detection and Identification of Toxins from Microcystis, Oscillatoria and Aphanizomenon from Several Freshwater Reservoirs; Routes of Intoxication; Testing of Toxicity in Cyanobacteria by Cellular Assays; A Sensitive Bioscreen for Detection of Cyclic Peptide Toxins of the Microcystin Class; The Inhibition of Protein Phosphatases by Toxins: Implications for Health and an Extremely Sensitive and Rapid Bioassay for Toxin Detection; Detection of Hepatotoxins by Protein Phosphatase Inhibition Assay: Advantages, Pitfalls, and Anomalies; Alternatives to the Mouse Bioassay for Cyanobacterial Toxicity Assessment; Evaluation of Assay Methods for the Determination of Cyanobacterial Hepatotoxicity. (Part contents)

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