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story to find out more.
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![Photo: Molecular structure of triclosan.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090509201629im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/triclosan090109.jpg)
ARS has developed a new test for detecting
triclosan that should expedite environmental monitoring of this antibacterial
agent in rivers, wells and other water sources. Image courtesy of Ben
Mills.
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![For further reading](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090509201629im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/For-further-reading.gif)
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New Test Speeds Triclosan Detection in Water
By Jan Suszkiw
January 9, 2009 A new test for detecting triclosan
should expedite environmental monitoring of the antibacterial agent in rivers,
wells and other water sources, according to studies by
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and
collaborating scientists.
Triclosan's widespread use in household productsfrom hand soaps and
toothpaste to socks and pet shampooshas led to debate over the chemical's
impact on the environment, wildlife, human health and antimicrobial resistance.
Existing methods of gathering information on triclosan and its metabolites in
the environment are costly to use, require dedicated lab space and necessitate
specialized training, according
Weilin
Shelver.
Shelver, a chemist in the ARS
Animal
Metabolism-Agricultural Chemicals Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., developed
the new triclosan test in collaboration with Jennifer Church, Lisa Kamp and
Fernando Rubio, a research team at
Abraxis, Inc., of
Warminster, Pa.
The new test, called a magnetic particle enzyme immunoassay, isn't intended
to replace the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods now used,
but rather complement them, especially for routine monitoring of tricolosan in
a large number of water samples.
The team evaluated the test by using it to detect triclosan and its
derivative, methyl-triclosan, in river water, tap water and sewage samples from
three municipal plants in the Red River Basin area shared by North Dakota and
Minnesota. River and tap water analyses revealed triclosan and methyl-triclosan
levels below 20 parts per trillion (ppt), indicating little contamination of
the rivers that supplied the samples.
The team's wastewater analysis showed that, before treatment, triclosan
levels sometimes exceeded 3,000 ppt, but after treatment, those levels fell
below 500 ppt. According to Shelver, the results confirmed other reports
indicating that sewage plants' purification steps removed much, but not all, of
the triclosan from water before it is discharged into the environment.
In addition to correlating well with GC-MS analysis during the study's
validation phase, the new test proved sensitive enough to distinguish triclosan
from chemically similar contaminants.
Read
more about this research in the January 2009 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.
ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.