Enantiomeric Composition of Chiral Polychlorinated Biphenyl Atropisomers in Aquatic and Riparian Biota

The enantiomeric composition of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) atropisomers was measured in river and riparian biota (fish, bivalves, crayfish, water snakes, barn swallows) from selected sites throughout the United States by using chiral gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Nonracemic enantiomeric...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2001-06, Vol.35 (12), p.2448-2454
Main Authors: Wong, Charles S, Garrison, Arthur W, Smith, Paul D, Foreman, William T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Astacoidea
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Availability
Bivalvia
Contamination
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollutants - analysis
Environmental Pollutants - pharmacokinetics
Fish
Fishes
Food Chain
Fresh water environment
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hirundo
Isomerism
Mollusca
PCB
Pisces
Polychlorinated biphenyls
Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis
Polychlorinated Biphenyls - pharmacokinetics
Procambaridae
Rivers
Serpentes
Snakes
Songbirds
Tissue Distribution
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - pharmacokinetics
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Summary:The enantiomeric composition of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) atropisomers was measured in river and riparian biota (fish, bivalves, crayfish, water snakes, barn swallows) from selected sites throughout the United States by using chiral gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Nonracemic enantiomeric fractions (EFs) were observed for PCBs 91, 95, 136, and 149 for aquatic and riparian biota from Lake Hartwell, SC, a reservoir heavily contaminated with PCBs, and for these congeners and PCBs 132, 174, 176, and 183 in river fish and bivalves nationwide. Fish and bivalves showed marked differences in EFs as compared to sediment found at the same sampling sites, thus suggesting that PCBs are bioprocessed in biota in a different manner from those found in sediment (e.g., reductive dechlorination). Species-dependent patterns in PCB EFs were observed, which suggest differences in the ability of different species to bioprocess PCBs enantioselectively, most likely by metabolism. The presence of nonracemic PCBs in fish and bivalves suggests greater metabolic degradation of PCBs in these organisms than indicated from previous achiral studies and underscores the powerful potential of chiral analysis as a tracer of environmental bioprocesses.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es0018872