Estrogens

Endocrine disrupting compounds might interfere with the hormone system of organism leading to functional disruption. The majority of endocrine activity in the environment arises from the natural hormones estron (E1), 17β estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3) as well as the synthetic 17α ethinyl estradiol (EE2) (Jarošová et al., 2014: Environ. Int. 64: 98ff). EE2 is largely used for contraception.

E1, E2 and EE2 are part of the watch list of the Water Frame Directory (RL 2008/105/EG) as risks for the aquatic environment might arise from them.

Goal of this project is the development of a suitable method for sample processing and LC-MSMS - analysis for their determination in seawater of the Baltic Sea to assess potential toxicological risks to marine organisms. Their distribution pattern will be analyzed to deduce their sources, particularly of the synthetic EE2.