Publisher's Synopsis
Cyanobacterial blooms have a long history and are widely recognized as sources of taste and odors in water supplies. There is an increasing concern for health effects in consumers with the identification of a number of toxic cyanobacterial metabolites. Cyanobacteria produce a range of toxins including peptide hepatotoxins (microcystins), neurotoxins (anatoxins and saxitoxins), cylindrospermopsin, and the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxins.
Robust analytical methods must be available to monitor for toxins and assess their significance. An evaluation of isolated LPS endotoxins determined their toxicities to be very low. Methods were further developed for the determination of saxitoxins, anatoxin-a, and cylindrospermopsin. This included their determination in a single method. The neuroblastoma assay detected saxitoxins not determined by other methods. Gene probes for the detection of toxic cyanobacteria were applied to a number of field samples. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods, including commercially available test kits, were evaluated for determining microcystins with good results.
A range of U.S. and Australian field samples were successfully analyzed using the above methods. Extraction methods for LPS endotoxins from cyanobacterial material were developed. Extracted LPS were then tested using temperature changes in injected mice. Deficiencies in existing analytical methods for specific toxins were used as the basis for selecting methods for further development. Kits based on ELISA procedures for determining microcystins have recently become available. Therefore, these were chosen for evaluation due to their simplicity and ease of use. The usefulness of the various methods was assessed by applying to them to a range of field samples.
