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.     

液相色谱-串联质谱法测定尿液中的泛酸

该文建立了检测尿液中泛酸含量的液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC-MS/MS)方法,尿液经过离心、稀释后,采用ACPUITY UPLC SS T3(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.8μm)色谱柱进行分离,电喷雾正离子模式电离,多反应监测模式进行检测,方法的线性关系良好(r=0.999 3),方法检出限为0.46 ng/m L,回收率为87.9%~95.3%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为2.5%~13.0%。该方法具有灵敏度高、分析时间短等特点,可用于尿液中泛酸含量的分析。     

Trace-level analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls,organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human plasma or serum by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A method to determine 8 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 23 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was described using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) of a small amount of plasma or serum sample and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS). The appropriate selection of the extraction solvent and dispersing solvent contributes to a high extraction yield and a clean extract. To verify the developed method, the interference, linearity of the calibration curve, detection limit, precision and accuracy were evaluated. The calibration curves were linear by 2–3 orders of magnitude with correlation coefficients above 0.997 in all cases. The LODs of PCBs, OCPs and PAHs were measured in the ranges of 0.0006–0.0029, 0.001–0.029 and 0.0002–0.012 ng/mL. The intraday precision achieved by this method was 2.19–10.3% (PCBs), 1.65–14.3% (OCPs) and 0.91–12.8% (PAHs), and the intraday accuracy 1.56–7.37% (PCBs), 2.34–19.6% (OCPs) and 1.49–15.7% (PAHs). The advantage of this method is that the analysis of PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs can be performed in a single chromatographic run, and the low detection limit enables monitoring of target substances in low exposure general public samples, and the analysis procedure is relatively simple and fast.     

Determination of traces of As,Cd, Cr,Hg, Mn,Ni, Sb,Se, Sn and Pb in human hair by triple quadrupole ICP-MS

With the wide range of metallic contaminants discharged in the environment, studying the human health requires a growing number of elements to be monitored in biological samples. Hair analysis has been suggested as a suitable tool for biomonitoring environmental and occupational exposure to toxic elements. This study describes a method for the determination of 10 trace elements in hair samples using ICP-QQQ-MS. Combining the power of the MS/MS high-energy Helium mode with the MS/MS O₂ mass-shift mode, the method offers great analytical performances with detection limits reaching 0.0014 µg g^?1 for As, 0.0016 µg g^?1 for Cd, 0.012 µg g^?1 for Cr, 0.0035 µg g^?1 for Hg, 0.0055 µg g^?1 for Mn, 0.10 µg g^?1 for Ni, 0.0012 µg g^?1 for Sb, 0.0083 µg g^?1 for Sn, 0.011 µg g^?1 for Se and Pb. The accuracy of the method was tested on a human hair ERM® certified reference material. Percent recoveries varied from 91.3% and 106.9% being always in the acceptance range of 90–110%. For all analysed elements, RSD% of repeatability ranged between 0.6% and 9.0% and those of intermediate precision did not exceed the limit of 20% being always lower than 10% (except for As). The proposed method was applied for the determination of trace elements in hair samples from 20 unexposed subjects. The geometric mean levels were as follows: Cr 0.28 µg g^?1, Mn 0.30 µg g^?1, Sn 1.04µg g^?1, Sb 0.07 µg g^?1, Hg 0.42 µg g^?1, As 0.02 µg g^?1, Cd 0.03 µg g^?1, Ni 0.51 µg g^?1, Se 0.45 µg g^?1 and Pb 1.83 µg g^?1. Element concentrations were in the same range with the reported data. The reported results may be useful for environmental exposure assessment or comparisons studies when establishing reference values of trace elements in exposed population.     

A miniaturized kit for ozone biomonitoring

A new miniaturized kit based on very young supersensitive tobacco Bel-W3 plantlets, which can be easily used to detect phytotoxic levels of ozone in ambient air in large scale surveys, is described. It has been developed in laboratory as well as field studies. The optimal sampling time is 5–7 d. The advantages of the kit are its user-friendliness, low cost, and reliability. The kit may be integrated by a passive sampling tube set and may be also proposed for educational programs.     

Determination of thiocyanate as a biomarker of tobacco smoke constituents in selected biological materials of human origin

In order to protect human health, it is necessary to biomonitor toxic substances originating from tobacco smoke in biological materials sampled from persons with different exposures to tobacco smoke constituents. Thiocyanate anion is a biomarker of exposure to tobacco smoke components which is characterized by a relatively long half‐life in the human body, i.e. 6 days. In this work, we present the results of thiocyanate determinations performed on samples of placenta, meconium, saliva, breast milk, sweat and blood. The placenta samples were subjected to accelerated solvent extraction with water. The thiocyanate concentrations were determined using ion chromatography. The analyzed biological materials were compared with regard to their applicability for biomonitoring toxic substances originating from tobacco smoke. The highest mean concentrations of thiocyanate were observed in the samples of biological materials collected from active smokers.     

Biomonitoring in the mercury-contaminated Wabigoon–English–Winnipeg river (Canada) system: selecting the best available bioindicator

Several organisms used for biomonitoring in the mercury-contaminated Wabigoon–English River System, Ontario, Canada (sport fish, forage fish, crayfish and others) were examined for their utility as bioindicators. Causes for spatial and temporal variability in mercury concentrations in biota are reviewed. The significance of intertrophic and intratrophic biotic relationships is evaluated on both a site-specific and intersite basis. Larger mature fish are the most effective integrators as these organisms are the most buffered from site-specific and seasonal variations in mercury concentrations and bioavailability. Where there are no physical barriers preventing movement of biota between contaminated and uncontaminated parts of the watercourse, younger, smaller organisms can better - ical zones of contamination because of their restricted range. Because many organisms can provide information on mercury contamination, the choice of the most suitable indicator depends upon the purpose of the study, the pharmacokinetics of mercury uptake by the organisms in question, and the chemodynamics of methyl and inorganic mercury species in the field.     

Solid‐phase microextraction for the human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals: Current applications and future perspectives

Sample preparation is one of the crucial steps in the analytical chemistry including human biomonitoring studies. Although there are several traditional approaches available, solid‐phase microextraction is emerged as one of the pioneering techniques due to its simplicity, rapidness, wide applicability, and miniaturization of traditional sample preparation (e.g., use of less or no organic solvents). There are few earlier review articles available on the advancements in solid‐phase microextraction and its use for the measurement of environmental chemicals in various types of environmental samples. However, a collective information on applicability and current usage of solid‐phase microextraction for the human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals are scarce, nonetheless, rising demands on innovative analytical approaches for human biomonitoring studies. Hence, in this review article, we covered the application of solid‐phase microextraction as extraction/purification methods for more than 15 classes of environmental chemicals to assess their respective exposure levels and associated health outcomes in various human population reported across the globe. Further, a detailed discussion on various types of matrix used, nature of coupled analytical instrumentations, and limitations and future perspectives of solid‐phase microextraction for human biomonitoring studies is presented in this review.     

Multielemental Analysis of Bee Pollen,Propolis, and Royal Jelly Collected in West-Central Poland

Beehive products possess nutritional value and health-promoting properties and are recommended as so-called “superfoods”. However, because of their natural origin, they may contain relevant elemental contaminants. Therefore, to assess the quality of bee products, we examined concentrations of a broad range of 24 selected elements in propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly. The quantitative analyses were performed with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) techniques. The results of our research indicate that bee products contain essential macronutrients (i.e., K, P, and S) and micronutrients (i.e., Zn and Fe) in concentrations depending on the products’ type. However, the presence of toxic heavy metals makes it necessary to test the quality of bee products before using them as dietary supplements. Bearing in mind that bee products are highly heterogenous and, depending on the environmental factors, differ in their elemental content, it is necessary to develop standards regulating the acceptable levels of inorganic pollutants. Furthermore, since bees and their products are considered to be an effective biomonitoring tool, our results may reflect the environment’s condition in west-central Poland, affecting the health and well-being of both humans and bees.     

An Analytical Method for the Biomonitoring of Mercury in Bees and Beehive Products by Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry

Bees and their products are useful bioindicators of anthropogenic activities and could overcome the deficiencies of air quality networks. Among the environmental contaminants, mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that can accumulate in living organisms. The first aim of this study was to develop a simple analytical method to determine Hg in small mass samples of bees and beehive products by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The proposed method was optimized for about 0.02 g bee, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly, 0.05 g beeswax and honey, or 0.1 g honeydew with 0.5 mL HCl, 0.2 mL HNO₃, and 0.1 mL H₂O₂ in a water bath (95 °C, 30 min); samples were made up to a final volume of 5 mL deionized water. The method limits sample manipulation and the reagent mixture volume used. Detection limits were lower than 3 µg kg⁻¹ for a sample mass of 0.02 g, and recoveries and precision were within 20% of the expected value and less than 10%, respectively, for many matrices. The second aim of the present study was to evaluate the proposed method’s performances on real samples collected in six areas of the Lazio region in Italy.