Polybrominated Biphenyl Ethers Research Articles

A brominated secondary metabolite synthesized by the cyanobacterial symbiont of a marine sponge and accumulation of the crystalline metabolite in the sponge tissue

The dictyoceratid marine sponge Dysidea herbacea (Keller, 1889) is common in shallow waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Polybrominated biphenyl ethers such as 2-(2′,4′-dibromophenyl)-4,6-dibromophenol (1) are characteristic secondary metabolites of some specimens of this sponge and may represent as much as 12% of the dry weight. We have found 1 to be deposited as conspicuous crystals throughout the sponge tissue. The dominant prokaryotic endosymbiont in the mesohyl of the sponge is a filamentous cyanobacterium (Oscillatoria spongeliae), although a vacuole-containing, heterotrophic bacterium is also present. The cyanobacteria were separated from the sponge cells and heterotrophic bacteria by flow cytometry. Coupled gas chromatography—mass spectrometry and proton nuclear magnetic-resonance spectroscopy revealed that the major brominated Compound 1 isolated from the intact symbiotic association is found in the cyanobacteria and not in the sponge cells or heterotrophic bacteria. This suggests that the production of the compound is due to the cyanobacterium, and not to the sponge or symbiotic heterotrophic bacteria, as had been suggested earlier.

Polybrominated biphenyl ethers in marine fish, shellfish and river and marine sediments in Japan

The presence of polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBBEs), commonly used as flame retardants, was confirmed in marine fish, shellfish and river and marine sediments in Japan. These compounds were detected in seven out of 17 marine fish and shellfish, though at low levels. Tetrabrominated biphenyl ether was a major component in marine organisms. However, sediment pollution by PBBEs, particularly that by decabrominated biphenyl ether, pose a serious problem in the rivers of Osaka but not in marine areas.

Polybrominated aromatic pollutants found in fish in Sweden

Polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBBEs) have been found in fish caught in Swedish waters. The maximum level detected in muscular tissue was 0.15 mg/kg (27 mg/kg fat) in a pike ( Esox lucius) caught in the south-west part of the country. The liver of the same specimen contained 22 mg PBBEs/kg (110 mg PBBEs/kg fat).

Analysis of polybrominated aromatic ethers

Commercially available polybrominated aromatic ethers, which are used as additive-type flame retardants, have been analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography, reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography and UV spectrometry. For the polybrominated biphenyl ethers, the dependence of retention in the various chromatographic modes on bromine content, and the main substitution patterns, are discussed and compared with those for polybrominated biphenyls.