Determination of 17α-Methyltestosterone in Freshwater Samples of Tilapia Farming by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Isabel R. Barbosa, Sara Lopes, Rhaul Oliveira, Inês Domingues, Amadeu M. V. M. Soares, António J. A. Nogueira

Centre for Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.

DOI: 10.4236/ajac.2013.44026                

Abstract

17α-methyltestosterone is used to induce the sex reversal of Tilapia sp. to obtain cultures mono-sex to an economically viable. This practice may lead to environmental contamination and problems in human health. Therefore methods need to be developed to detect residues of 17α-methyltestosterone in aqueous matrices. A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method using ultraviolet detection (245 nm) and testosterone as internal standard has been developed for the monitoring 17α-methyltestosterone in freshwater samples of tilapia aquaculture. The method described involves limited sample preparation as it includes a filtration followed by a single solid-phase extraction step using C18 cartridge. Validation data indicated that the HPLC-UV method for 17α-methyltestosterone determination in the concentration range of 50 - 2000 μg/L provided good linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision. Method performance was efficiently applied to monitoring the freshwater samples of fish ponds and the surrounding aquatic channels.

Keywords

17α-Methyltestosterone; High Performance Liquid Chromatography; Environment; Tilapia Farming

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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