Physical and chemical parameters of sediment extraction and fractionation that influence toxicity, as evaluated by Microtox[reg sign]

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620120403· OSTI ID:6502285

Ho, K T.Y.; Quinn, J G ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Rhode Island, Narragansett (United States)

Several physical and chemical parameters of sediment extraction and fractionation of organic compounds that influence bioassay results were evaluated. Each parameter was evaluated with a photoluminescent bacterial bioassay (Microtox) as en end point. Three solvents (acetonitrile, acetone, and methanol) were studied for their ability to extract toxic organic components from marine sediments. Acetone extracted the most toxicity, with no difference between acetonitrile and methanol. Two methods of fractionating sediment extracts (silica-gel-column chromatograph [SGCC] and acid-base fractionation) were compared. SGCC was more useful because it resulted in a wider range of responses and was faster to perform than acid-base fractionation. Microtox was used to rank four marine sediments with respect to toxicity and to determine if one chemical class (or fraction) was consistently more toxic among different sediments. With some caveats, Microtox results agreed with general chemical concentration trends and other bioassay results in distinguishing between contaminated and noncontaminated sediments. Although results indicated there was not a consistently most toxic fraction among sediments, there was a consistently least toxic fraction. The effect of sediment storage time on toxicity was also evaluated. Results indicated that the most stable chemical fraction (containing nonpolar hydrocarbons) did not change toxicologically for 30 weeks, whereas the more chemically active fraction (containing ketones, quinones, and carboxyls) changed as soon as one week.

• OSTI ID: 6502285
• Journal Information: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States) Vol. 12:4; ISSN ETOCDK; ISSN 0730-7268
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACETONE
ACETONITRILE
ALCOHOLS
BIOASSAY
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
CHROMATOGRAPHY
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONTAMINATION
EVALUATION
EXTRACTION
EXTRACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY
FRACTIONATION
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
KETONES
METHANOL
NITRILES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SOLVENTS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLLUTION
SEDIMENTS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLVENTS
TOXICITY
WATER POLLUTION