As a part of Work Package 1 (mobility and training of young researchers and postgraduate students in partners institutes) within the REP-LECOTOX project (Contract No. INCO-CT-2006-043559-REP-LECOTOX), I spent one month (November the 5th – December the 5th, 2007) in Helmholtz Institute for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
During the visit, my work was supervised by the head of the Department for Effect-Directed Analysis, Dr. Werner Brack, and aided by PhD students and other staff working within the Department.

    The main goal of the visit was familiarization with modern analytical instrumentation and methods in the analysis of toxicants in sediments and other environmental samples, as used in the UFZ Institute. Samples used for testing were previously collected from contaminated wastewater channel in industrial zone of Pančevo, Serbia. During the previous M&T visit to UFZ by fellow researcher, the samples were prepared and fractionated according to appropriate procedures, and were assayed for dioxin-like activity. My tasks included qualitative analysis of sediment extracts showing significant activity, identification of compounds possibly responsible for said activity, and their quantitation. Qualitative analysis of semivolatile polutants was performed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) operating in Scan mode, in conjuntion with appropriate data analysis applications and chemometric tools. Quantitative analysis included determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), methylated PAHs, dibenzothiophene and carbazole (as these were most abundant compounds in sample fractions showing significant activity), and was also done using GC-MS, operating in SIM mode, and using external standard (ESTD) technique. All the results, together with bioactivity assay results, are to be published in papers and/or posters.

    The visit also included attending the "Risk Assesment in European River Basins – State of the Art and Future Challenges" conference, held at UFZ in November the 12-14th, 2007, and organised within the frame of the Integrated Project MODELKEY and the Coordination Action RISKBASE. It was the opportunity to learn about the latest developments and challenges associated with the assessment of risks to European river basins.

    Finaly, this visit helped in strengthening the existing cooperation between LECOTOX group and UFZ, thus providing a good basis for future research projects.

    Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Dr. Werner Brack and other members of the Department for Effect-Directed Analysis for the shown hospitality and help during my work in Leipzig and Prof. Radmila Kovačević for inviting me to participate in REP-LECOTOX project.



Dejan Orcic