title: Sterol ratios as a tool for sewage pollution assessment of river sediments in Serbia.
abstract: In this work, source pollution tracing of the sediments of the Danube River and its tributaries in Serbia was performed using sterol ratios. Improved liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method, which enabled complete chromatographic separation of four analytes with identical fragmentation reactions (epicoprostanol, coprostanol, epicholestanol and cholestanol), was applied for the determination of steroid compounds (hormones, human/animal and plant sterols). A widespread occurrence of sterols was identified in all analyzed samples, whereas the only detected hormones were mestranol and 17α-estradiol. A human-sourced sewage marker coprostanol was detected at the highest concentration (up to 1939 ng g(-1)). The ratios between the key sterol biomarkers, as well as the percentage of coprostanol relative to the total sterol amount, were applied with the aim of selecting the most reliable for distinction between human-sourced pollution and the sterols originated from the natural sources in river sediments. The coprostanol/(cholesterol + cholestanol) and coprostanol/epicoprostanol ratios do not distinguish between human and natural sources of sterols in the river sediments in Serbia. The most reliable sterol ratios for the sewage pollution assessment of river sediments in the studied area were found to be coprostanol/(coprostanol + cholestanol), coprostanol/cholesterol and epicoprostanol/coprostanol. For the majority of sediments, human-derived pollution was determined. Two sediment samples were identified as influenced by a combination of human and natural biogenic sources.
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matić Bujagić
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: cekili@tmf.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grujić
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Zorica
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jauković
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Mila
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laušević
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004083:Cholestanol / Q000032:analysis; D002777:Cholestanols / Q000032:analysis; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000032:analysis; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000032:analysis; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008656:Mestranol / Q000032:analysis; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D055771:Serbia; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D002777:Cholestanols; D012722:Sewage; D004958:Estradiol; D004083:Cholestanol; D002784:Cholesterol; D008656:Mestranol; C523170:epicoprostanol
keywords: Contamination; Fecal; Hormones; LC-MS; Sediments; Sterols; The Danube