Abstract
Harmful algal blooms are responsible worldwide for the contamination of fishery resources, with potential impacts on seafood safety and public health. Most coastal countries rely on an intense monitoring program for the surveillance of toxic algae occurrence and shellfish contamination. The present study investigates the use of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the rapid in situ determination of cell concentrations of toxic algae in seawater. The paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin-producing dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum was selected for this study. The spectral modeling by partial least squares (PLS) regression based on the recorded NIR spectra enabled the building of highly accurate (R2 = 0.92) models for cell abundance. The models also provided a good correlation between toxins measured by the conventional methods (high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD)) and the levels predicted by the PLS/NIR models. This study represents the first necessary step in investigating the potential of application of NIR spectroscopy for algae bloom detection and alerting.
Highlights
Harmful algal blooms (HAB) and the subsequent accumulation of toxins in marine organisms can have severe impacts on human health if no appropriate monitoring program is in place
During HAB events, toxic phytoplankton cells may be concentrated by filter-feeder organisms, such as bivalve molluscs, which in turn may act as vectors of HAB toxins to humans
The aim of this study was to investigate the application of FT-near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the analysis of marine toxins in seawater and develop an on-line monitoring system based on Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy
Summary
Harmful algal blooms (HAB) and the subsequent accumulation of toxins in marine organisms can have severe impacts on human health if no appropriate monitoring program is in place. Monitoring programs are designed to protect public health through temporary closures of shellfish harvest, whenever marine toxins exceed regulatory limits. The concentrations of potentially toxic algae are monitored in seawater as a warning for bloom occurrence, and toxins are determined in shellfish tissues to examine whether their concentrations are within safety limits for human consumption. Both algae and toxins are typically quantified by complex and time-consuming off-line analysis based on microscopy and liquid chromatography (LC), respectively
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