Bioconcentration of two basic pharmaceuticals, verapamil and clozapine, in fish

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 593 - 603
• Main Authors: Nallani, Gopinath C., Edziyie, Regina E., Paulos, Peter M., Venables, Barney J., Constantine, Lisa A., Huggett, Duane B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Pergamon 01.03.2016; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic ecosystems; Bioaccumulation; Bioconcentration; Bioconcentration factor (BCF); Biological magnification; Calcium channels; Channel catfish; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Clozapine - analysis; Clozapine - isolation & purification; Cyprinidae - metabolism; Fathead minnow; Female; Fish; Freshwater fish; Gills - chemistry; Gills - metabolism; Ictaluridae - metabolism; Ictalurus punctatus; Kidney - chemistry; Kidney - metabolism; Liquid chromatography; Liquid-Liquid Extraction; Liver - chemistry; Liver - metabolism; Male; Mass Spectrometry; Muscles - chemistry; Muscles - metabolism; Myocardium - chemistry; Myocardium - metabolism; Pharmaceuticals; Tissues; Toxicology; Verapamil - analysis; Verapamil - isolation & purification; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - isolation & purification; Fathead minnow; Bioconcentration factor (BCF); Channel catfish; Bioconcentration; Pharmaceuticals
• ISSN: 0730-7268; 1552-8618
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.3244

The present study examined the bioconcentration of 2 basic pharmaceuticals: verapamil (a calcium channel blocker) and clozapine (an antipsychotic compound) in 2 fresh water fishes, fathead minnow and channel catfish. In 4 separate bioconcentration factor (BCF) experiments (2 chemicals × 1 exposure concentration × 2 fishes), fathead minnow and channel catfish were exposed to 190 μg/L and 419 μg/L of verapamil (500 μg/L nominal) or 28.5 μg/L and 40 μg/L of clozapine (50 μg/L nominal), respectively. Bioconcentration factor experiments with fathead consisted of 28 d uptake and 14 d depuration, whereas tests conducted on catfish involved a minimized test design, with 7 d each of uptake and depuration. Fish (n = 4–5) were sampled during exposure and depuration to collect different tissues: muscle, liver, gills, kidneys, heart (verapamil tests only), brain (clozapine tests only), and blood plasma (catfish tests only). Verapamil and clozapine concentrations in various tissues of fathead and catfish were analyzed using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. In general, higher accumulation rates of the test compounds were observed in tissues with higher perfusion rates. Accumulation was also high in tissues relevant to pharmacological targets in mammals (i.e. heart in verapamil test and brain in the clozapine test). Tissue‐specific BCFs (wet wt basis) for verapamil and clozapine ranged from 0.7 to 75 and from 31 to 1226, respectively. Tissue‐specific concentration data were used to examine tissue–blood partition coefficients. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:593–603. © 2016 SETAC