The objective of this critical review was to provide a comprehensive summary of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) producing species and knowledge gaps in detecting PSTs in drinking water resources, with a focus on recent development of PSTs monitoring methods and tools for drinking water monitoring. PSTs, which are also called Saxitoxins (STXs), are a group of neurotoxins not only produced by marine dinoflagellates but also freshwater cyanobacteria. The presence of PSTs in freshwater has been reported from all continents except Antarctica. PSTs in poisoned sea food such as shellfish, molluscs and crustaceans may attack the nerve system after consumption. The high incidences of PSTs occurring in drinking water sources showed another route of potential human exposure. A development of simple and fast screening tools for drinking water surveillance of PSTs is needed. Neurotoxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria are understudied relative to microcystin and little study is done around PSTs in drinking water monitoring. Some fast screening methods exist. The critical issues for using them in water surveillance, particularly matrix effect and cross-reactivity are summarized, and future research directions are high-lighted. We conclude that monitoring routines at drinking water resources should start from species level, followed by a profound screening of toxin profile. For practical monitoring routine, fast screening methods should be combined with highly sensitive and accurate analytical methods such as liquid chromatography/liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/LC-MS). A thorough understanding of toxin profile in source water is necessary for screening tool selection.
Keywords: Cross-reactivity; Drinking water resources; ELISA; LFA; Matrix effect; Screening tool.
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