Paul Löffler

M. Sc. in Ecotoxicology at the University of Koblenz-Landau (Germany). Thesis title: "Quantitative screening for polyethylene, polypropylene and polypropylene debris in mulched agricultural soils using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry"

B. Sc. in Chemistry at University of Stuttgart (Germany). Thesis title: "Synthesis of amino acid-based crosslinkers for hydrogels"

I investigate the proliferation and transmission of antibiotic resistance resulting from transformation products (TPs) of antimicrobial chemicals in aquatic environments. Therefore, we use a variety of methods, such as in silico tools, molecular, and also analytical chemical methods to assess selected TPs. I test selected TPs products in different freshwater microcosms and try to establish and validate a robust analytical scheme for detecting and isolating the major products using LC-Orbitrap-MS. This method is further used to investigate the impact of antimicrobial transformation products on the aquatic resistome (expression of antibiotic resistance genes ARGs and mobile genetic elements MGEs using high throughput-qPCR) in different freshwater microcosms. Lastly, I aim to investigate spatial profiles of transformation products, parent compounds, ARGs, MGEs and microbial communities in freshwaters across (inter)national locations.

Löffler, P.; Schymanski, E.; Henschel, H.; Lai, F.Y. (2025) In Silico Frontiers Shaping the Next Generation of Transformation Product Prediction and Toxicological Assessment. Environmental Science & Technology 10.1021/acs.est.5c06790

Löffler, P.; Rehnstam, S.; Ahrens, L.; Lai, F.Y.; Celma, A. (2025) Long-Term System Suitability Evaluation for Mass Accuracy in the Analysis of Small Molecules by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 10.1021/jasms.5c00128

Craig, A.; Norouzi, M.; Löffler, P.; Lai, F.Y.; Mitbaa, R.; Breyer, E.; Baltar, F.; Moodie, L.W.K.; Hawkes, J.A. (2025) Investigating the Stability of Individual Carboxylate-Rich Alicyclic Molecules Under Simulated Environmental Irradiation and Microbial Incubation Conditions. Environmental Science & Technology 10.1021/acs.est.5c01958 

Löffler, P.; Henschel, H.; Ugolini, V.; Flores Quintana H.; Wiberg, K.; Lai, F.Y. (2025) Exploring the Role of Photolysis in the Aquatic Fate of Antimicrobial Transformation Products: Implications for One Health. Environmental Science & Technology Water 10.1021/acsestwater.5c00327 

Ugolini, V.; Khan, U.A.; Löffler, P.; Spilsbury, F.; Lai, F.Y. (2025) Insight into on-site sewage facilities as an overlooked contributor to antimicrobial resistance: Environmental impacts and existing mitigation strategies. Journal of Environmental Management 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126528

Löffler, P., Jonsson, O., Niemeyer, A.S., Dahlberg, A.-K., Golovko, O., Götlind, O., Haalck, I., Ahrens, L., Wiberg, K., Lai, F.Y. (2024) In situ sampling of steroid hormones in water using a novel TIMFIE device: Validation and applicability. Green Analytical Chemistry 10.1016/j.greeac.2024.100143

Khan, U.A.; Löffler, P.; Spilsbury, F.; Wiberg, K.; Stålsby Lundborg, C.; Lai, F.Y. (2024) Towards sustainable water reuse: A critical review and meta-analysis of emerging chemical contaminants with risk-based evaluation, health hazard prediction and prioritization for assessment of effluent water quality. Journal of Hazardous Materials 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136175

Löffler, P., Lai, A., Henschel, H., Spilsbury, F., Deviller, G., Tarazona, J.V., Lai, F.Y. (2024) Enhanced Risk Assessment of Transformation Products through Chemical Similarity Analysis. Environ. Sci. & Technol. Water 10.1021/acsestwater.4c00240

Löffler, P., Escher, B.I., Baduel, C., Virta, M.P., Yin Lai, F. (2023) Antimicrobial Transformation Products in the Aquatic Environment: Global Occurrence, Ecotoxicological Risks, and Potential of Antibiotic Resistance. Environ. Sci. Technol. 57, 9474–9494. 10.1021/acs.est.2c09854

Steinmetz, Z., Löffler, P., Eichhöfer, S., David, J., Muñoz, K., Schaumann, G.E. (2022) Are agricultural plastic covers a source of plastic debris in soil? A first screening study. SOIL, 8, 31–47. 10.5194/soil-8-31-2022

Löffler, P. (2021) Review: Vaccine Myth-Buster - Cleaning Up With Prejudice and Dangerous Misinformation. Front. Immunol. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.663280

Haalck, I., Löffler, P., Baduel, C., Wiberg, K., Ahrens, L., Lai, F.Y. (2021) Mining chemical information in Swedish wastewaters for simultaneous assessment of population consumption, treatment efficiency and environmental discharge of illicit drugs. Sci. Rep. 11, 13510. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92915-4

Icik, E., Jolly, A., Löffler, P., Agelidis, N., Bugdayci, B., Altevogt, L., Bilitewski, U., Baro, A., Laschat, S. (2020) Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of a Library of AGE-Related Amino Acid Triazole Crosslinkers. E. J. Org. Chem. 33, 5368-5379. 10.1002/ejoc.202000811

Associate Professor Foon Yin Lai (Main supervisor)

Professor Karin Wiberg (Co-supervisor)

Senior Researcher Christine Baduel (Co-supervisor