Analysis of Malathion and its Breakdown Products in Aquaria Containing Golden Shiners (N. CHRYSOLEUCAS)

Abstract

The 1-ethylmonocarboxylic acid of Malathion (MCA) was identified as a metabolite of Malathion in the gut of golden shiners (N. Chrysoleucas) (7.11 × 10²±0.66 × 10² ng/g tissue). As noted in the literature the rate of hydrolysis of Malathion above pH 7 is first order with respect to Malathion and pH dependent. In addition, the rate of hydrolysis of Malathion in aquaria housing these fish was found to be dependent on the concentration of Ca⁺²; sparging the aquaria with air affected the rate. Some of the hydrolysis products of Malathion were identified by gc/ms and found to be pH dependent above pH 7. The half-life of Malathion under different conditions, the identification of some hydrolytic products and a general scheme for the analysis of Malathion, along with some of its metabolic and hydrolytic products are included in this paper.