Capillary Column Gas Chromatography of Environmental Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds

Abstract

The methodologies are described for isolating clean fractions of polycyclic aromatic compounds from diverse environmental samples such as air particulate matter, sediments, and fish tissue. The common step in all procedures is the separation of the polycyclic aromatic compound fraction into well-defined chemical classes by adsorption chromatography on an alumina column. These procedures greatly facilitate the detailed characterization of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfur heterocycles, and nitrogen heterocycles by capillary column gas chromatography.     

Programmed Temperature Vaporization Injection (PTV) in the Analysis by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) of the Constituents of Landfill Gas

Abstract

Trace volatile compounds emitted from both domestic and industrial landfills have been identified by programmed temperature vaporization injection (PTV) coupled to gas chromatography with detection by ion-trap mass spectrometry (GC-ITD/MS). The PTV injection system has been developed using a combination of two six-port valves to achieve problems of interference in GC-MS while loading sample. A large volume of landfill gas was re-concentrated onto a sorbent trap, then rapidly liberated into the GC-ITD/MS system by programmed thermal desorption. Using this method, trace volatile compounds in gases from both domestic and industrial landfills such as aromatic hydrocarbons, terpenes, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and sulfur compounds can be identified and quantified.     

Reactions of tautomeric quaternary phosphonium salts based on triphenylphosphine and 3-phenylpropargyl bromide with nitrogen nucleophiles

Triphenyl(3-phenylprop-1-ynyl)phosphonium bromide (3) was isolated. This compound is a third isomer for the tautomeric system triphenyl(3-phenylpropadienyl)phosphonium bromide (1) triphenyl(3-phenylprop-2-ynyl)phosphonium bromide (2). Salts 1 and 2 smoothly react with secondary amines to give adducts with an ,-double bond, while salt 3 changes to an allene ylide. Addition of phenylhydrazine and triphenyl(phenylethynyl)phosphonium bromide to salts 1 and 2 and addition of dimethylformamide to salt 2 were performed.     

An Analytical Approach to Metabolic Profiling of Aromatic Compounds Using Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

An analytical approach to metabolic profiling of aromatic compounds is described for both conjugated and “free” metabolites in biological systems. Initially, an ethyl acetate extraction removes the less polar metabolites. A salting-out procedure using Sephadex G-10 is combined with reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to analyze the water-soluble conjugates directly using sequential uv and fluorescence detection. The “free” metabolites are also derived from individual conjugate peaks by enzymatic or hydrolytic procedures and then re-chromatographed by HPLC. Metabolites in the ethyl acetate fraction are similarly analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC. The utility of this method is demonstrated for 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF and 4-ethylsulfonyl-naphthalene-1-sulfonamide (ENS), two compounds of interest in the study of murine bladder carcinogenesis.     

N-Alkanes in Air Particulates of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Oil hydrocarbons represent a great proportion of organic compounds in the atmosphere. Information about these compounds in the atmosphere of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is lacking. In this study, n-alkanes and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in air particulates were determined. The highest median concentration levels of n-alkanes in three urban areas and three areas near oil production centers were 121 ng/m³ and 42.9 ng/m³, respectively. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons were also detected, although they are present in too low concentration for reliable quantitative measurement by GC and GC/MS techniques. A positive correlation was found between the concentration levels of n-alkanes in air particulates and the total suspended particulates measured at most locations. The carbon preference index (CPI) and the presence of the unresolved complex envelope suggested an anthropogenic origin for the n-alkanes.     

Experimental Designs for Optimizing Multi-residual Microwave-assisted Extraction and Chromatographic Analysis of Oxygenated (Hydroxylated,Quinones) Metabolites of PAHs in Sediments

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent pollutants that accumulate in sediments, where they may be turned into more toxic oxygenated metabolites (oxy-PAHs). Two methodologies were screened for a multi-residue analysis of two different families of oxy-PAHs from sediments: hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs) and carbonyl-PAHs (quinones). Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), which has never been used for their simultaneous extraction, was optimized based on (1) a fractional factorial design to screen the influential factors and (2) a central composite design to obtain the best compromise for optimal extraction conditions, which were 128 °C, 26 mL of acetonitrile/methylene chloride (90/10) and 10 min duration. Individual recoveries were in the range 73.9–118%. Then GC-MS and HPLC coupled to UV and fluorescence (FLD) detectors were investigated for quantification of traces. OH-PAHs and quinones had to be derivatized before GC-MS. Acetylation of quinones was improved and limits of detection (LODs) were decreased 2.7–53 fold, with the highest benefit for ortho-quinones. There was no real advantage in using HPLC-UV instead of GC-MS in terms of carbonyl-PAH detection sensitivity, but OH-PAH LODs were decreased 30- to 140-fold using HPLC-FLD. Despite this advantage, MAE-GC-MS appeared the best way to analyze oxy-PAHs at trace levels from naturally contaminated sediment matrices, because confirmation of their presence in extracts was more reliable.     

PAH metabolism in the earthworm Eisenia fetida – identification of phase II metabolites of phenanthrene and pyrene

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are soil contaminants. Because of their high lipophilicity, PAHs are associated with the organic matter in the soil. Transformation of PAHs generates polar metabolites and the interaction with organic matter in the soil changes. The polar PAH metabolites are persistent, highly water-soluble and potentially leachable from the soil; the understanding of transformation of PAHs to polar metabolites in the responsible organisms is of great importance. Here, we present a study of transformation of the PAHs pyrene and phenanthrene, by the common earthworm Eisenia fetida. The study showed that E. fetida in hydroponic culture was able to transform PAHs to conjugated phase II metabolites. We detected phenanthrene and pyrene metabolites with single- and multiple-phase II-conjugated groups. Sulphate conjugates were excreted to experiment water, and glucuronide and glucoside conjugates and metabolites with several hydroxylations and multiple conjugations were detected in worm tissue. The results demonstrate that earthworms are able to transform PAHs to water-soluble phase II metabolites, which can be excreted to the surrounding environment.     

Improved ultrasonic extraction procedure for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments

The aim of this work was to optimize an ultrasonic extraction procedure for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments and to compare it with the reflux procedure using methanolic potassium hydroxide. Sample extracts were purified with a miniaturized silica gel chromatographic column and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Ultrasonication using n-hexane-acetone (1:1, v/v) solvent mixture on dried homogenized marine sediment gave better precision (smaller relative standard deviation (RSD) values) and comparable quantities of individual PAH's compared to the reflux procedure. Ultrasonication with the n-hexane-acetone (1:1, v/v) mixture, utilizing four 15 min extraction cycles, was found to be sufficient for extracting PAHs from wet sediments. The optimized ultrasonic extraction procedure extracted aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons from the National Institute of Standards and Technology SRM 1941a with recoveries greater than 90%. The major advantages of ultrasonication compared to the reflux method are the lower extraction times, simplicity of the apparatus and extraction procedure. The optimized ultrasonication procedure has been used in our laboratory to extract hydrocarbons from naturally wet sediments from rivers, and coastal and marine areas.     

喷气燃料裂解产物中芳烃的全二维气相色谱-质谱分析

采用全二维气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC×GC-MS),通过优化程序升温和调制周期,建立了喷气燃料裂解产物中芳烃的定性定量分析方法。该方法对多环芳烃(PAH)同分异构体具有良好的分离能力。利用MS检测器谱库检索结果、芳烃标准品及相关的文献报道,对喷气燃料裂解产物中常见的单环芳烃、二环芳烃、三环芳烃及四环芳烃等共27种芳烃进行了准确定性,并利用外标GC×GC-FID法对其进行定量。定量结果表明,芳烃含量均随着裂解产气率的增加而增大,当裂解产气率达到22%时,二环芳烃开始产生,且其含量随着裂解产气率的增加呈指数形式增加。该方法与传统的气相色谱-质谱相比,具有更好的分离及定性能力,可应用于复杂样品的分离及其定性定量分析。     

Multidimensional Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Method for Fingerprinting Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Alkyl-Homologs in Crude Oil

The composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in crude oil is usually too complex to use standard capillary gas chromatography to separate all of the components. In this study, a multidimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was used to analyze polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fractions of crude oil collected from the Dongying oil field in the Bohai Sea. A DB-17MS column (30?m?×?0.25?mm?×?0.25?µm) was used as a prefractionating column and only selected heart-cuts were transferred to the second chromatographic dimension (HP-5MS, 15?m?×?0.25?mm?×?0.25?µm) by a pressure-adjusted continual flow-type switching device for quantification of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The chromatographic elements and parameters, such as detector selection and column combinations, were optimized. Naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluorene, dibenzothiophene, chrysene, and their C₁–C₄ alkyl homologs were identified. The profile of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons obtained using the multidimensional GC-MS method was compared with the results obtained by traditional one-dimensional GC-MS.     

Analysis of the Sulfonylurea Herbicide Metsulfuron-Methyl and Its Metabolites in the Soil of Cereal Crops. Comparative Analytical Chemistry of the Sulfonylureas

Abstract

For the analysis of metsulfuron-methyl in the crop soils with a sensitivity limit of 0.3 μg kg^?1 dry soil, in the soil extract metsulfuron-methyl was separated from its soil metabolites and the soil impurities by repeated thin-layer chromatographies (TLC). In the cleaned soil extract, diazomethane transformed metsulfuron-methyl 1 into N,N′ -dimethyl metsulfuron-methyl 2 (methyl 2-[[[[(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)methylamino]carbonyl]methylamino]sulfonyl]benzoate). In the gas-liquid chromatograph with detection by electron capture (GC-EC) and in the combined gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), 2 was transformed into 1-dioxy-2-N-methyl-3-keto-1,2-benzisothiazole 3 which was measured by GC-EC with confirmation by GC-MS. The metsulfuron-methyl soil metabolites 2-sulfonamido-methylbenzoate 6, 1-dioxy-3-keto-1,2-benzisothiazole (saccharin) 7 and 2-sulfonamidobenzoic acid 8 were analyzed in the soil of winter wheat crops by a procedure similar to the one for metsulfuron-methyl. After their separation and purification in the soil extracts by TLC, 7 and 8 were methylated, and analyzed as 3 in the GC-EC and GC-MS apparatus where the generated 6 was quantitatively transformed into 3; 6 was analyzed as such with the GC and GC-MS apparatus wherein it was transformed into 3. The sensitivity limit for each metabolite was 0.3 μg of equivalents of metsulfuron-methyl kg^?1dry soil. The syntheses of the analysis standards of the metsulfuron-methyl derivatives 2 and 3, and of the metsulfuron-methyl metabolites 6, 7 and 8 are described. The transformation pathways of metsulfuron-methyl and of its derivatives are different from those of the pyridine-pyrimidine sulfonylurea herbicides flupyrsulfuron-methyl and rimsulfuron. The soil analysis of a sulfonylurea -by means of one of its transformation product- needs a previous study of the chemical reactivity of the sulfonylurea. This leads to the analysis procedures for the main soil metabolites of the sulfonylurea.     

Highly sensitive determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air dust by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after molecularly imprinted polymer extraction

A method based on solid--phase extraction with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) has been developed to determine five probable human carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air dust by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Molecularly imprinted poly(vinylpyridine-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) was chosen as solid-phase extraction (SPE) material for PAHs. The conditions affecting extraction efficiency, for example surface properties, concentration of PAHs, and equilibration times were evaluated and optimized. Under optimum conditions, pre-concentration factors for MIP-SPE ranged between 80 and 93 for 10 mL ambient air dust leachate. PAHs recoveries from MIP-SPE after extraction from air dust were between 85% and 97% and calibration graphs of the PAHs showed a good linearity between 10 and 1000 ng L⁻¹ (r = 0.99). The extraction efficiency of MIP for PAHs was compared with that of commercially available SPE materials—powdered activated carbon (PAC) and polystyrene-divinylbenzene resin (XAD)—and it was shown that the extraction capacity of the MIP was better than that of the other two SPE materials. Organic matter in air dust had no effect on MIP extraction, which produced a clean extract for GC-MS analysis. The detection limit of the method proposed in this article is 0.15 ng L⁻¹ for benzo[a]pyrene, which is a marker molecule of air pollution. The method has been applied to the determination of probable carcinogenic PAHs in air dust of industrial zones and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of 1-hydroxypyrene by the marine whelk Neptunea lyrata

In the marine environment, organisms can be exposed to oxidised forms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of these derivatives has rarely been investigated and would lead to a better understanding of the overall fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and that of other phenolic contaminants. The marine whelk Neptunea lyrata was exposed to 1-hydroxypyrene through its diet over 35 days. Extracts from the muscle and visceral mass of each animal were analysed by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The quantified compounds included 1-hydroxpyrene and the phase II metabolites pyrene sulphate, pyrene glucuronide and one isomer of pyrenediol disulphate. The hydroxylated hydrocarbon was highly retained with 78% of the exposure amount recovered primarily from the visceral mass of the whelks, while the muscle accounted for 4% of the body burden. Whelks efficiently biotransformed 1-hydroxypyrene with a mean of 81% of the compound detected as phase II metabolites. The novel biotransformation product, pyrenediol disulphate, accounted for the largest proportion of the 1-hydroxypyrene derivatives detected at body burdens below 200?ng. At higher body burdens, bioaccumulation increased. Control animals showed trace levels of pyrene derivatives with 76% represented by metabolites. This study highlights the importance of investigating the multiple fates of reactive chemicals in order to interpret exposure.     

A Quality Assurance Study for the Analysis of Hydrocarbons in Sediments

Abstract

Two exercises (MEDCAL I and II) were conducted in our Department during November 1984 and October 1986, with participants from the Mediterranean region, for testing the IOC Manual for the determination of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments (IOC, Manuals and Guides, No. 11).

The gas chromatographic analysis of the saturated hydrocarbon fraction provided, at the best, a precision of 60% (relative standard deviation RSD) for n-alkanes (mean conc. 0.89 μg/g) and 56 % for the unresolved complex mixture (UCM) (mean conc. 16μg/g). The CPI and the pristane/phytane ratio provided better results (13% RSD). The aromatic fractions, analysed by UV-fluorescence, yielded in total a mean concentration of 10μg/g of chrysene equivalents with a 49% RSD.

The extraction-partition step was confirmed to be the main source of error in the analysis because when the results were corrected for recoveries, the RSD were reduced to 17, 30 and 6% for n-alkanes, UCM and total aromatics, respectively. Our reference intra-laboratory precision was, respectively, 18, 14 and 14%.     

Reactive matrix clean-up of naturally occurring perylene in young lignite

Young lignite from two locations in Sendai City, Japan, were analyzed for polynuclear aromatic compounds (PACs). Lignite samples were extracted with toluene and PACs were isolated by a compound-class-selective, reactive matrix clean-up. This clean-up separates all compounds of polynuclear aromatic structure, for example hydrocarbons and ketones and their primary metabolites, from interfering organic compounds. The result of this isolation procedure is, therefore, a group of a large number of polycyclic compounds with different functional groups. Further analysis is done by glass capillary gas chromatography. Perylene was identified as the only compound obtained by the reactive matrix clean-up of lignite samples from both locations. Concentrations were in the range of 1–10 mg kg⁻¹. Conversely, PACs resulting from particulate emissions from fossil fuel combustion always contain isomeric PAHs (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons) with some polycyclic aromatic ketones and thousands of primary and secondary metabolites at very low concentrations. This was demonstrated for a sample of urban air particulate matter, which is the source of PAC contamination of surface soil. The absence of accompanying PAHs and polynuclear aromatic ketones in the lignite samples confirms that perylene did not originate from a combustion process. It is assumed that the high concentrations of perylene are the result of a reduction of perylene quinone. Thus, the high perylene content of the lignite samples investigated is of biogenic origin.     

In Situ Correlations Between Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and Pah Metabolizing System Activities in Mussels and Fish in the Mediterranean Sea: Preliminary Results

Abstract

Biochemical indices based on enzymatic activities have been determined in fish and mussels sampled in various different coastal locations in the Mediterranean Sea. Preliminary results show a good agreement between biochemical measurements in marine organisms and chemical analyses of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons present in sediments. The results obtained suggest the use of biochemical indices for application in chemical contaminant biomonitoring.     

Two Stabilized Calix[6]Cryptand Stereo Isomers used as Stationary Phases for Capillary Gas Chromatography

ABSTRACT

A couple of stabilized calix[6]cryptand steroisomers were synthesized by capping 1,3,5-trimethoxy-p-tert-butylcalix[6]arene with 1,1,1-tri(tosyloxyethoxyethoxymethyl)-propane and used as stationary phases for capillary gas chromatography. Their chromatographic characteristics and separation mechanism for aromatic positional isomers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are discussed.     

Methodology for Bioassay-Directed Fractionation Studies of Air Particulate Material and Other Complex Environmental Matrices

Abstract

A normal phase HPLC methodology using a semi-preparative polyaminocyano column in conjunction with a selection of short-term genotoxicity assays has been developed for bioassay-directed fractionation studies of complex environmental mixtures. To illustrate the effectiveness of this methodology, an organic extract prepared from respirable air particulate samples collected in Hamilton, Canada was separated into a non-polar aromatic fraction and a polar aromatic fraction using a combination of alumina and Sephadex LH20 chromatography. These fractions were evaluated for their genotoxic potential using the Salmonella/microsome (Ames) assay with six different strains of Salmonella.

The non-polar aromatic fraction was analyzed by normal phase HPLC and the eluent was collected in one-minute subfractions; these subtractions were bioassayed in three different Salmonella strains (YG1021 -S9, YG1024 -S9 and YG1029 +S9) to afford three different mutation profiles of this sample. Some subfractions which exhibited high mutagenic responses were subjected to further chemical analyses using GC/MS in order to identify those compounds responsible for the genotoxic responses. The nitroarene compounds 2-nitrofluoranthene, 1-nitropyrene and 2-nitropyrene and higher molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzo[a]pyrene and indeno[l,2,3-cd]pyrene were identified and quantified in some of the biologically active subfractions. The normal phase gradient conditions afforded very reproducible retention times for a series of polycyclic aromatic standards with a broad range of compound polarities. In addition, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were observed to elute from the normal phase HPLC column in a series of peaks; successive peaks contained PAH of increasing molecular weight while any individual peak was shown to contain PAH of the same molecular weight.     

The molecular complex of dibenz[a,c]anthracene and trinitrobenzene

The crystal structure of the complex between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon di-benz[a,c]anthracene and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene is reported. The crystals are triclinic, space group P¯1 with unit cell dimensionsa=7.277(2) å,b=11.237(6) å, andc=13.902(5) å,= 104.13(4),=96.04(3), and =95.15(2). Diffraction data were measured at 121(2) K. The structure was determined and refined toR ₁=0.046. The structure consists of layers containing both dibenz[a,c]anthracene and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene molecules, interconnected within a layer by C-H O interactions. Layers stack on one another so that dibenz[a,c]anthracene molecules are sandwiched between 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene molecules and vice versa. The average distance between molecules in these sandwiches is 3.23 å.     

Der Metabolismus des Retinoids Ro 10-9359. Isolierung und Identifizierung der Hauptmetaboliten aus Plasma,Urin und Faeces des Menschen sowie aus der Galle der Ratte Synthese von drei Urinmetaboliten

The Metabolism of the Retinoid Ro 10-9359. Isolation and Identification of the Major Metabolites in Human Plasma, Urine and Feces Synthesis of Three Urinary Metabolites After oral administration of therapeutic doses of the ³H-labelled aromatic retinoic acid analog (retinoid) Ro 10-9359 (ethyl all-trans-9-(4-methoxy-2,3,6-trimethyl-phenyl)-3,7-dimethyl-2,4,6,8-nonatetraenoate) to humans 75 and 15% of the ³H-dose were excreted within the first five days in the feces and the urine, respectively. Using chromatographic procedures including high pressure liquid chromatography 18 metabolites could be isolated from human urine. Their structures were elucidated by mass spectrometry and FT–¹H-NMR. spectroscopy. In these urinary metabolites the tetraene side chain of the parent compound Ro 10-9359 is shortened. The radioactivity of the identified urinary metabolites accounted for about 11% of the dose. Three urinary metabolites were synthesized. The main part of the radioactivity excreted within the first five days in the feces consisted of unchanged drug (60% of the dose). A smaller (amount 15% of the dose) could not be identified. The unchanged drug and a major metabolite, the corresponding acid, were found in human plasma. In an experiment with bile-duct cannulated rats the radioactively labelled retinoid Ro 10-9359 was injected intravenously. About 70% of the ³H-dose was excreted in the bile, within the first 48 hours. The whole radioactivity of the rat bile consisted of polar metabolites. No unchanged drug could be found. After enzymatic hydrolysis of the bile conjugates three metabolites were isolated. The main metabolite (49% of the i.v. dose) was a conjugate of the corresponding acid of the parent drug, already found as free compound in human plasma. The other bile metabolites (9 and 7% of the i.v. dose) had an intact side chain, too. An enterohepatic recycling of the bile metabolites was observed in the rat.