Abstract
This work reports on the isolation and determination of biotransformation products obtained from the organoarsenic compounds that are present in Fucus distichus when it was subjected to an open anaerobic decomposition by using the Hydride Generation Gas Chromatography Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (HG-GC-AAS) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). The seaweed and filtrate residues obtained from the open anaerobic degradation procedure were extracted in methanol and partitioned in phenol-ether-water mixtures to obtain water soluble extracts. The water soluble extracts were cleaned up and separated on a gel permeation Sephadex G15 column. Arsenic species concentrations were determined by using HG-GC-AAS. Final characterization of the biotransformation isolates was carried out on HPLC-ICP-MS. Only two arsenic species, 2-dimethylarsinoyl ethanol (DMAE) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA), were positively identified in the water soluble extract of the marine brown algae. The two arsenic species are strong intermediate candidates in the biosynthesis of arsenobetaine from oceanic arsenate in marine food webs.
Highlights
Several species of arsenicals have been characterized in the marine environment, in marine algae and seaweed which are known to concentrate high arsenic contents [1,2,3]
For a complete understanding of the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of the arsenic in the marine environment, this paper investigated an open anaerobic decomposition of algal arsenosugars in a Fucus distichus sp. collected from the coast of British Columbia and its decomposition products were characterized and positively identified by using the Hydride Generation Gas Chromatography Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (HG-GC-AAS) and the High Performance Liquid Chromatography combined with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (HPLCICPMS)
The water soluble filtrate and seaweed samples obtained prior to separation on the gel permeation column were subjected to arsenic speciation analysis by using the semicontinuous mode HG-GC-AAS technique (Table 1), before and after subjecting them to a 3-hour hot base digestion
Summary
Several species of arsenicals have been characterized in the marine environment, in marine algae and seaweed which are known to concentrate high arsenic contents [1,2,3]. Organic arsenic compounds called arsenosugars are found to be the most predominant arsenicals found in the marine macroalgae [5]. Even though marine macroalgae are at the bottom of the food chain and contain the greatest concentrations of arsenic, evidence revealed that arsenic is not biomagnified by higher organisms in the food chain [6]. Instead of biomagnifications of arsenic as one ascends the trophic levels, only accumulation and or elimination of arsenic occur in marine organism [7]. These arsenicals can be subjected to various biotransformations including reduction, oxidation, and methylation [5]
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