Determination of carotenoids in effluents from salmon farming farms
Canthaxanthin (CTX) and astaxanthin (ATX) carotenoids are used for the pigmentation of salmonids, as salmon raised in captivity do not have the same coloration as wild animals. Animals in their natural habitat have natural sources of canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, while captive-reared salmonids require supplementation in their diet. This supplementation is done using artificially produced carotenoids that are extracted by organic solvents, thus there may be residues in the pigments used to feed these fish. Several toxicity tests have already been carried out on these pigments in animals, but there is no study related to how much these pigments affect the environment. This study aimed to determine CTX and ATX in effluents from salmon farming farms using solid phase extraction with molecular printing polymers (MISPE) via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after the optimized conditions of the method, which was validated using the ICH protocol and repeatability merit figures; as well as reproducibility, analyzed via the data acquisitionsoftware of the Agilent 1220 system, resulted in a% CV less than 3% for the concentration range of 1.25 to 50 mg L-1. MISPE phases were synthesized via bulk. The MISPE extracts were analyzed via HPLC using C18 Promosil column (5 µm, 100 Å, 4.6 X 150 mm), temperature of 50 ° C, flow of 1 mL min-1, injection volume of 10 µL and detection at 474 nm. MISPE phases using CTX as a template molecule CTX and ATX (MM), and radical initiator (IAR) 2,2 azobisisobutyronitrile, acrylic acid as a functional monomer (MF), EGDMA (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) as a crosslinking agent (RR) in proportion 1 : 2: 2: 1 generated recovery (% R) for CTX of 0.07 ± 0.1% canthaxanthin and 15.9 ± 2% ATX. Syntheses of several other polymers were carried out that did not generate satisfactory results. Using commercial C18 solid phase extraction cartridges the recovery results for ATX and CTX reach the 50% range. In the next stage of the research, the commercial phase C18 will be used for the determination of CTX and ATX in samples of effluents from the breeding of carp and salmon trout in the Horto Florestal de Campos de Jordão.