Abstract
Aquatic organisms are exposed to pharmaceuticals present in natural waters, but few data are available on the accumulation of these substances in such organisms. The present study evaluated the in vivo bioconcentration of two anticonvulsants – carbamazepine (CBZ) and 10-hydroxy-10,11-dihydro-carbamazepine (10OH) – in marine mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) exposed to nominal 10 μg L− 1 concentrations for one week. The bioconcentration factors (BCFs) were 3.9 and 4.5 L kg− 1 dry weight (dw) for CBZ and 10OH, respectively. CBZ accumulation reached an average tissue concentration of 29.3 ± 4.8 ng g− 1 dw, and 10OH accumulated up to 40.9 ± 4.6 ng g− 1 dw in tissues within one week, showing first-order kinetics. BCF obtained with linear QSAR models correctly estimated the CBZ bioconcentration and overestimated the 10OH bioconcentration to some extent. The detection of two metabolites (carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide and acridine) among the five sought suggested an active metabolism for CBZ. In contrast, none of the 10OH metabolites were detected in mussels exposed to 10OH. CBZ showed higher accumulation in the digestive gland, where some relevant metabolites were detected, than in other studied tissues. The implication of those findings on field biomonitoring is discussed.