Methylated arsenic species in estuarine porewaters

Inorganic arsenic, monomethylarsenic and dimethylarsenic species have been observed in samples of sediment porewater collected from the Tamar Estuary in South-West England. Porewater samples were collected using in situ dialysis. The arsenic species were separated by hydride generation and concentrated by liquid nitrogen trapping, prior to analysis by directly coupled gas chromatography-atomic absorption spectroscopy. The predominant dissolved arsenic species present was inorganic arsenic (5-62 m?g dm^?3). However, this is the first time significant concentrations of methylated arsenic species have been quantified in estuarine porewaters (0.04–0.70 m?g dm^?3), accounting for between 1 and 4% of the total dissolved arsenic. The presence of methylated arsenic compounds in porewaters is attributed to in situ environmental methylation, although the possibility of methylated arsenic species being derived from biological debris cannot be excluded.     

The discovery of hidden arsenic species in coastal waters

The analysis of ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated and untreated seawater samples has shown that the dissolved arsenic content of marine waters cannot be completely determined by hydride generation–atomic absorption spectrophotometry without sample pretreatment. Irradiation of water samples obtained during a survey of arsenic species in coastal waters during the summer of 1988 gave large increases in the measured speciation. Average increases in the measured speciation. Average increases in total arsenic, monomethylarsenic and dimethylarsenic were 0.29 μg As dm^?3 (25%), 0.03 μg As dm^?3 (47%) and 0.12 μg As dm^?3 (79%), respectively. Overall, an average 25% increase in the concentration of dissolved arsenic was observed following irradiation. This additional arsenic may be derived from compounds related to algal arsenosugars or to their breakdown products. These do not readily yield volatile hydrides when treated with borohydride and are not therefore detected by the normal hydride generation technique. This has important repercussions as for many years this procedure, and other analytical procedures which are equally unlikely to respond to such compounds, have been accepted as giving a true representation of the dissolved arsenic speciation in estuarine and coastal waters. A gross underestimate may therefore have been made of biological involvement in arsenic cycling in the aquatic environment.     

Determination of inorganic arsenic and organic arsenic compounds in marine organisms by hydride generation/cold trap/gas chromatography— mass spectrometry

The behavior of arsenite, methylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, trimethylarsine oxide, dimethyl-R-arsine oxides, and trimethyl-R-arsonium compounds (R = carboxymethyl, 2-carboxyethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl) toward sodium borohydride and hot aqueous sodium hydroxide was investigated. The arsines obtained by sodium borohydride reduction of the undigested and digested solutions were collected in a liquid-nitrogen cooled trap, separated with a gas chromatograph, and detected with a mass spectrometer in the selected-ion-monitoring mode. The investigated arsenic compounds were stable in hot 2 mol dm^?3 sodium hydroxide except arsenobetaine [trimethyl(carboxymethyl)arsonium zwitterion] that was converted to trimethylarsine oxide, and dimethyl(ribosyl)arsine oxides that were decomposed to dimethylarsinic acid. Hydride generation before and after digestion of extracts from marine organisms allowed inorganic arsenic, methylated arsenic, arsenobetaine, and ribosyl arsenic compounds to be identified and quantified. This method was applied to extracts from shellfish, fish, crustaceans, and seaweeds.     

Metabolism of arsenic compounds by the blue mussel mytilus edulis after accumulation from seawater spiked with arsenic compounds

Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were exposed to 100 μg As dm^?3 in the form of arsenite, arsenate, methylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine, trimethylarsine oxide, tetramethylarsonium iodide or dimethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)arsine oxide in seawater for 10 days. The seawater was renewed and spiked with the arsenic compounds daily. Analyses of water samples taken 24 h after spiking showed that arsenobetaine and arsenocholine had been converted to trimethylarsine oxide, whereas trimethylarsine oxide and tetramethylarsonium iodide were unchanged. Arsenobetaine was accumulated by mussels most efficienty, followed in efficiency by arsenocholine and tetramethylarsonium iodide. None of the other arsenic compounds was significantly accumulated by the mussels. Extraction of mussel tissues with methanol revealed that control mussels contained arsenobetaine, a dimethyl-(5-ribosyl)arsine oxide and an additional arsenic compound, possibly dimethylarsinic acid. Mussels exposed to arsenobetaine contained almost all their experimentally accumulated arsenic as arsenobetaine, and mussels exposed to tetramethylarsonium iodide contained it as the tetramethylarsonium compound. Mussels exposed to arsenocholine had arsenobetaine as the major arsenic compound and glycerylphosphorylarsenocholine as a minor arsenic compound in their tissues. The results show that arsenobetaine and arsenocholine are efficiently accumulated from seawater by blue mussels and that in both cases the accumulated arsenic is present in the tissues as arsenobetaine. Consequently arsenobetaine and/or arsenocholine present at very low concentrations in seawater may be responsible for the presence of arsenobetaine in M. edulis and probably also among other marine animals. The quantity of arsenobetaine accumulated by the mussels decreases with increasing concentrations of betaine. HPLC-ICP-MS was found to be very powerful for the investigation of the metabolism of arsenic compounds in biological systems.     

Distribution and cycle of arsenic compounds in the ocean

In order to understand the distribution and the cycle of arsenic compounds in the marine environment, the horizontal distributions of arsenic(V) [As(V)], arsenic(III) [As(III)], monomethylarsonic acid (MMAA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA) in the Indian Pacific Oceanic surface waters have been investigated. This took place during cruises of the boat Shirase from Tokyo to the Syowa Station (15 November–19 December 1990), of the tanker Japan Violet from Sakai to Fujayrah (28 July–17 August 1991) and of the boat Hakuho-maru from Tokyo to Auckland (19 September–27 October 1992). Vertical distributions of arsenic in the west Pacific Ocean have also been investigated. The concentration of As(V) was found to be relatively higher in the Antarctic than in the other areas. Its concentration varied from 340 ng dm^?3 (China Sea) to 1045 ng dm^?3 (Antarctic). On the other hand, the concentrations of the biologically produced species, MMAA and DMAA, were extremely low in the Antarctic and southwest Pacific waters. Their concentrations in Antarctic waters were 8 ng dm^?3 and 22 ng dm^?3 and those in the southwest Pacific were 12 ng dm^?3 and 25 ng dm^?3. In the other regions the concentration varied from 16 ng dm^?3 (China Sea) to 36 ng dm^?3 (north Indian Ocean) for MMAA and from 50 ng dm^?3 (east Indian Ocean) to 172 ng dm^?3 (north Indian Ocean) for DMAA. As a result, with the exception of Antarctic and southwest Pacific waters, the percentages of each arsenic species in the surface waters were very similar and varied from 52% (east Indian Ocean) to 63% (northwest Pacific Ocean) for As(V), from 22% (northwest Pacific Ocean) to 27% (east Indian Ocean) for As(III) and from 15% (northwest Pacific Ocean) to 21% (north and east Indian Oceans) for the methylated arsenics (MMAA+DMAA). These percentages in Antarctic waters were 97%, 0.2% and 2.8%, respectively, and those in the southwest Pacific Ocean were 97% for As(V)+As(III) and 3% for MMAA+DMAA. The very low concentrations of the biologically produced species in Antarctic waters and that of methylated arsenic in southwest Pacific waters indicated that the microorganism communities in these oceans was dominated by microorganisms having a low affinity towards arsenic. Furthermore, microorganism activity in the Antarctic was also limited due to the much lower temperature of the seawater there. The vertical profile of inorganic arsenic was 1350 ng dm^?3 in surface waters, 1500 ng dm^?3 in bottom waters with a maximum value of 1700 ng dm^?3 at a depth of about 2000 m in west Pacific waters. This fact suggested the uptake of arsenic by microorganisms in the surface waters and the co-precipitation of arsenic with hydrated heavy-metal oxides in bottom waters. The suggested uptake of inorganic arsenic and subsequent methylation was also supported by the profile of DMAA, with a high concentration of about 26 ng dm^?3 in surface water and a significant decrease to a value of 9 ng dm^?3 at a depth of 1000 m.     

Methylation of inorganic arsenic by arsenic-tolerant freshwater algae

Five arsenic-resistant freshwater algae which had been isolated from an arsenic-polluted environment were studied for the biotransformation of arsenic compounds accumulated by them from the aqueous phase. The algal cells bioaccumulating arsenic were digested by 2 mol dm^?3 NaOH at 95°C, the As? C bonds except for As? CH₃ were cleaved by the treatment and the methylated arsenic compounds were reduced to the corresponding arsines by sodium borohydride (hydride generation). The arsines were chromatographically separated on the basis of their boiling-point difference and determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Methylated arsenic compounds were found in all algal cells. The predominant arsenic species in the cells, however, were non-methylated arsenic compounds which were mainly present in the residue of a chloroform–methanol extract. The non-methylated arsenic compounds were found to be not present in the free inorganic arsenic substrate and to be bound strongly with proteins or polysaccharides in the cells. Methylated arsenic compounds were found mainly in the lipid-soluble fractions and the major form was a dimethylarsenic compound. Trimethyl- and monomethyl-arsenic compounds were detected but at very low level. The dimethylarsinic acid was not present in the free form in the lipid-soluble fraction and should be bound with a lipid molecule. It was also found that the accumulation of arsenic by Nostoc occurred only in living cells.     

Seasonality in estuarine sources of methylated arsenic

The effect of seasonal temperature change on the release of methylated arsenic from macroalgae, phytoplankton and sediment porewaters has been investigated by a series of controlled laboratory experiments. The appearance of dissolved arsenic species in the overlying waters was monitored using a coupled hydride generation/GC AA analytical technique. The liberation of dissolved arsenic species by the macroalgae Ascophyllum nodosum was examined under estuarine conditions at 5 °C and 15 °C. At the lower temperature the release rates were 0.2 μg kg^?1 h^?1 (wet weight of material) for monomethylarsenic (MMA) and 0.5 μg kg^?1 h^?1 for dimethylarsenic (DMA), whereas at 15 °C the rates were 0.4 μg kg^?1 h^?1 and 3.2 μg kg^?1h^?1, respectively. Incubation experiments were also carried out at 15 °C using the diatom Skeletonema costatum. During the log growth phase, when chlorophyll a concentrations were in the range 1-5 μg dm^?3, the rate of appearance of DMA in the water was ～3 ng dm^?3 h^?1. Sediment samples from the freshwater and seawater end-members of the Tamar Estuary, UK, were incubated under natural conditions at 5 °C and 15 °C. The freshwater sediments released DMA in preference to MMA; the concentrations of both species increased exponentially and reached a steady state in the overlying water after 250 h. Considerably more DMA was produced at 15 °C than at 5 °C, whilst the amount of MMA produced appeared to be insensitive to the temperature increase. In contrast, the seawater sediments always produced more MMA than DMA and the increase in temperature had little effect on the production of either MMA or DMA. The results of the laboratory experiments were compared with field observations in temperate estuaries, including the Tamar Estuary. The implications of changes of water temperature on the fate of arsenic in estuaries is discussed and modifications to the estuarine arsenic cycle are proposed.     

Development and application of liquid and gas-chromatographic speciation techniques with element specific (ICP-MS) detection to the study of anaerobic arsenic metabolism

Following the observation of volatile hydride and methylated arsenic species in the gases released from sewage treatment facilities and municipal landfills, we have developed a method for investigating the production of such gases by an anaerobic organism. Here we report the application of high performance ion chromatography (HPIC), hydride generation gas chromatography (HG-GC), and purge and trap gas chromatography (PT-GC), coupled with inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study the formation of ionic and volatile arsenic compounds produced in a batch culture of the anaerobic methanogen Methanobacterium formicicum. In this time course experiment we observed arsenite, mono- and dimethylated arsenic acid, arsine, mono-, di- and trimethylarsine, as well as a currently unknown volatile arsenic species.     

Determination of arsenic in steel and cast iron by hydride-generation atomic absorption spectrometry

A procedure is described for the determination of arsenic in steel and cast iron by atomic absorption spectrometry after hydride generation with sodium tetrahydroborate. The samples are decomposed with a nitric/perchloric acid mixture. The data are evaluated directly against acidic standard solutions of arsenic(V). The limit of detection is about 1 μg g^?1 and the precision is better than 4% for concentrations exceeding 10 μg g^?1.     

The chemical form and acute toxicity of arsenic compounds in marine organisms

A method for the separation and identification of inorganic and methylated arsenic compounds in marine organisms was constructed by using a hydride generation/cold trap/gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HG/CT/GC MS) measurement system. The chemical form of arsenic compounds in marine organisms was examined by the HG/CT/GC MS system after alkaline digestion. It was observed that trimethylarsenic compounds were distributed mainly in the water-soluble fraction of muscle of carnivorous gastropods, crustaceans and fish. Also, dimethylated arsenic compounds were distributed in the water-soluble fraction of Phaeophyceae. It is thought that most of the trimethylated arsenic is likely to be arsenobetaine since this compound released trimethylarsine by alkaline digestion and subsequent reduction with sodium borohydride. The major arsenic compound isolated from the water-soluble fraction in the muscle and liver of sharks was identified as arsenobetaine from IR, FAB Ms data, NMR spectra and TLC behaviour. The acute toxicity of arsenobetaine was studied in male mice. The LD₅₀ value was higher than 10 g kg⁻¹. This compound was found in urine in the non-metabolized form. No particular toxic symptoms were observed following administration. These results suggest that arsenobetaine has low toxicity and is not metabolized in mice. The LD₅₀ values of other minor arsenicals in marine organisms, trimethylarsine oxide, arsenocholine and tetramethylarsonium salt, were also examined in mice.     

Decomposition of organoarsenic compounds for total arsenic determination in marine organisms by the hydride generation technique

The conditions necessary for the complete decomposition of six organic arsenic compounds, namely methylarsonic acid (MMAA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA), trimethylarsine oxide, tetramethylarsonium iodide, arsenocholine bromide (AsC) and arsenobetaine (AB), were investigated. The degree of decomposition of the arsenic compounds was monitored using a hydride generation (HYD) technique, because the response from this system depends strongly on the chemical species of arsenic, with inorganic arsenic (the expected product from these decomposition experiments) giving a much more intense HYD signal than the organic arsenic compounds. The arsenic compounds were decomposed by heating them with three types of acid mixture, namely HNO₃? HClO₄, HNO₃? HClO₄? HF, or HNO₃? HClO₄? H₂SO₄. Both MMAA and DMAA were decomposed completely using any of the mixed acids at a decomposition temperature of 200 °C or higher. The HNO₃? HClO₄? H₂SO₄ mixture was the most effective for decomposing AsC and AB, which are the most difficult compounds among all types of organic arsenic compound to decompose and render inorganic. The complete decomposition of AB was only achieved, however, when the temperature was 320 °C or higher, and the sample was evaporated to dryness. When the residue from this treatment was examined by high‐performance liquid chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, all of the arsenic was found to be present as arsenic(V). The optimized conditions (HNO₃? HClO₄? H₂SO₄ at 320 °C) for decomposing AB were then used to determine the total amount of arsenic in marine organisms known to contain AB. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distribution of arsenic in the natural environment with emphasis on rocks and soils

Arsenic is ubiquitous in the environment. Although the average arsenic concentrations in rocks (～2 mg kg^?1), soils (～2 mg kg^?1), freshwater (～1 m?g dm^?3), seawater (～2 m?g dm^?3) and organisms is generally low, high arsenic concentrations in limited areas are not uncommon. Whereas terrestrial organisms appear not to accumulate arsenic, marine organisms effectively concentrate arsenic to levels thousand of times higher than in ocean waters. The geochemical cycle and mineralogy of arsenic are reviewed with some emphasis towards Japanese locations and arsenic concentrations (averages, ranges) found in samples from the lithosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere are tabulated and discussed.     

Can Humans Metabolize Arsenic Compounds to Arsenobetaine?

Arsenic compounds were determined in 21 urine samples collected from a male volunteer. The volunteer was exposed to arsenic through either consumption of codfish or inhalation of small amounts of (CH₃)₃As present in the laboratory air. The arsenic compounds in the urine were separated and quantified with an HPLC–ICP–MS system equipped with a hydraulic high-pressure nebulizer. This method has a determination limit of 0.5 μg As dm⁻³ urine. To eliminate the influence of the density of the urine, creatinine was determined and all concentrations of arsenic compounds were expressed in μg As g⁻¹ creatinine. The concentrations of arsenite, arsenate and methylarsonic acid in the urine were not influenced by the consumption of seafood. Exposure to trimethylarsine doubled the concentration of arsenate and increased the concentration of methylarsonic acid drastically (0.5 to 5 μg As g⁻¹ creatinine). The concentration of dimethylarsinic acid was elevated after the first consumption of fish (2.8 to 4.3 μg As g⁻¹ creatinine), after the second consumption of fish (4.9 to 26.5 μg As g⁻¹ creatinine) and after exposure to trimethyl- arsine (2.9 to 9.6 μg As g⁻¹ creatinine). As expected, the concentration of arsenobetaine in the urine increased 30- to 50-fold after the first consumption of codfish. Surprisingly, the concentration of arsenobetaine also increased after exposure to trimethylarsine, from a background of approximately 1 μg As g⁻¹ creatinine up to 33.1 μg As g⁻¹ creatinine. Arsenobetaine was detected in all the urine samples investigated. The arsenobetaine in the urine not ascribable to consumed seafood could come from food items of terrestrial origin that—unknown to us—contain arsenobetaine. The possibility that the human body is capable of metabolizing trimethyl- arsine to arsenobetaine must be considered. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and application of liquid and gas-chromatographic speciation techniques with element specific (ICP-MS) detection to the study of anaerobic arsenic metabolism

Following the observation of volatile hydride and methylated arsenic species in the gases released from sewage treatment facilities and municipal landfills, we have developed a method for investigating the production of such gases by an anaerobic organism. Here we report the application of high performance ion chromatography (HPIC), hydride generation gas chromatography (HG-GC), and purge and trap gas chromatography (PT-GC), coupled with inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study the formation of ionic and volatile arsenic compounds produced in a batch culture of the anaerobic methanogen Methanobacterium formicicum. In this time course experiment we observed arsenite, mono- and dimethylated arsenic acid, arsine, mono-, di- and trimethylarsine, as well as a currently unknown volatile arsenic species. Received: 5 March 1998 / Revised: 22 June 1998 / Accepted: 26 June 1998     

Distribution of inorganic arsenic and methylated arsenic in marine organisms

Inorganic arsenic and methylated arsenic compounds in 60 specimens of marine organisms were investigated by hydride generation derivatization and cold-trap gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC MS). Chloroform–methanol extracts from seaweeds, shellfish, fish, crustaceans and other marine organisms were separated into water-soluble and lipid-soluble fractions. The arsenic compounds in each fraction were identified and analysed as arsine, methylarsine, dimethylarsine and trimethylarsine. Trimethylarsenic compounds were distributed mainly in the water-soluble fraction of muscle of carnivorous gastropods, crustaceans and fish. The amounts of dimethylated arsenic compounds were found to be larger than that of trimethylated arsenic in the lipid-soluble fraction of fish viscera. Dimethylated arsenic compounds were distributed in the water-soluble fraction of Phaeophyceae.     

Selective determination of trace arsenic and antimony species in natural waters by gas chromatography with a photoionization detector

Traces amounts of arsenic and antimony in water samples were determined by gas chromatography with a photoionization detector after liquidnitrogen cold trapping of their hydrides. The sample solution was treated with sodium hydroborate (NaBH₄) under weak-acid conditions for arsenic(III) and antimony(III) determination, and under strong-acid conditions for arsenic(III+V) and antimony(III+V) determination. Large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water vapor obscured determination of arsine and stibine. Better separation from interference could be achieved by removing CO₂ and water vapor in two tubes containing sodium hydroxide pellets and calcium chloride, respectively. The detection limits of this method were 1.8 ng dm^?3 for arsenic and 9.4 ng dm^?3 for antimony in the case of 100-cm³ sample volumes. Therefore, it is suitable for determination of trace arsenic and antimony in natural waters.     

Conversion of arsenite and arsenate to methylarsenic and dimethylarsenic compounds by homogenates prepared from livers and kidneys of rats and mice

Pooled livers and pooled kidneys from rats or mice were homogenized and spiked with arsenite or arsenate in the concentration range 1.3–20 μmol dm^?3. Methylarsenic and dimethylarsenic compounds were determined by the hydride generation technique in the homogenates after a 90 min incubation at 37°C. The rat homogenates methylated arsenite and arsenate more efficiently than the mouse homogenates. Monomethylated arsenic was present in larger amounts than dimethylated arsenic in the rat homogenates. In the absence of reduced glutathione (GSH), no methylation occurred. Addition of GSH promoted monomethylation and dimethylation, whereas dithiothreitol and mercaptoethanol (10 mmol dm^?3) fostered only monomethylation. The amounts of monomethylated arsenic in the rat liver homogenates increased with increasing arsenite concentration (1.3–20 μmol dm^?3) however, the percentage of arsenic that had been methylated decreased. A similar trend, but with much less monomethylarsenic formed, was observed for arsenate-spiked homogenates. Rat kidney homogenates methylated arsenite and arsenate to a much smaller extent than rat liver homogenates. The K_m values for the monomethylation in rat liver homogenates were found to be 5.3 μmol dm^?3 for arsenite and 59 μmol dm^?3 for arsenate.     

Arsenic compounds in terrestrial organisms. IV. Green plants and lichens from an old arsenic smelter site in Austria

Two lichens and 12 green plants growing at a former arsenic roasting facility in Austria were analyzed for total arsenic by ICP–MS, and for 12 arsenic compounds (arsenous acid, arsenic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, methylarsonic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine, trimethylarsine oxide, the tetramethylarsonium cation and four arsenoriboses) by HPLC–ICP–MS. Total arsenic concentrations were in the range of 0.27 mg As (kg dry mass)⁻¹ (Vaccinium vitis idaea) to 8.45 mg As (kg dry mass)⁻¹ (Equisetum pratense). Arsenic compounds were extracted with two different extractants [water or methanol/water (9:1)]. Extraction yields achieved with water [7% (Alectoria ochroleuca) to 71% (Equisetum pratense)] were higher than those with methanol/water (9:1) [4% (Alectoria ochroleuca) to 22% (Deschampsia cespitosa)]. The differences were caused mainly by better extraction of inorganic arsenic (green plants) and an arsenoribose (lichens) by water. Inorganic arsenic was detected in all extracts. Dimethylarsinic acid was identified in nine green plants. One of the lichens (Alectoria ochroleuca) contained traces of methylarsonic acid, and this compound was also detected in nine of the green plants. Arsenobetaine was a major arsenic compound in extracts of the lichens, but except for traces in the grass Deschampsia cespitosa, it was not detected in the green plants. In contrast to arsenobetaine, trimethylarsine oxide was found in all samples. The tetramethylarsonium cation was identified in the lichen Alectoria ochroleuca and in four green plants. With the exception of the needles of the tree Larix decidua the arsenoribose (2′R)‐dimethyl[1‐O‐(2′,3′‐dihydroxypropyl)‐5‐deoxy‐β‐D ‐ribofuranos‐5‐yl]arsine oxide was identified at the low μg kg⁻¹ level or as a trace in all plants investigated. In the lichens an unknown arsenic compound, which did not match any of the standard compounds available, was also detected. Arsenocholine and three of the arsenoriboses were not detected in the samples. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Speciation of major arsenic species in seawater by flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

Arsenic present at 1 μg L^–1 concentrations in seawater can exist as the following species: As(III), As(V), monomethylarsenic, dimethylarsenic and unknown organic compounds. The potential of the continuous flow injection hydride generation technique coupled to atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was investigated for the speciation of these major arsenic species in seawater. Two different techniques were used. After hydride generation and collection in a graphite tube coated with iridium, arsenic was determined by AAS. By selecting different experimental hydride generation conditions, it was possible to determine As(III), total arsenic, hydride reactive arsenic and by difference non-hydride reactive arsenic. On the other hand, by cryogenically trapping hydride reactive species on a chromatographic phase, followed by their sequential release and AAS in a heated quartz cell, inorganic As, MMA and DMA could be determined. By combining these two techniques, an experimental protocol for the speciation of As(III), As(V), MMA, DMA and non-hydride reactive arsenic species in seawater was proposed. The method was applied to seawater sampled at a Mediterranean site and at an Atlantic coastal site. Evidence for the biotransformation of arsenic in seawater was clearly shown.     

Biomethylation of Arsenic in an Arsenic-rich Freshwater Environment

Arsenic circulation in an arsenic-rich freshwater ecosystem was elucidated to detect arsenic species in the river water and in biological samples living in the freshwater environment. Water-soluble arsenic compounds in biological samples were extracted with 70% methanol. Samples containing arsenic compounds in the extracts were treated with 2 mol dm³ of sodium hydroxide and reduced with sodium borohydride. The detection of arsenic species was accomplished using a hydride generation/cold trap/cryofocus/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HG/CT/CF/GC-MS) system. The major arsenic species in the river water, freshwater algae and fish are inorganic arsenic, dimethylarsenic and trimethylarsenic compounds, respectively. Trimethylarsenic compounds are also detected in aquatic macro-invertebrates. The freshwater unicellular alga Chlorella vulgaris, in a growth medium containing arsenate, accumulated arsenic and converted it to a dimethylarsenic compound. The water flea Daphnia magna, which was fed on arsenic-containing algae, converted it to a trimethylarsenic species. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.