title: Chemico/biological investigation of contaminated sediment from the Hamilton Harbour area of western Lake Ontario.
abstract: Highly contaminated sediment from the Hamilton Harbour area of western Lake Ontario was examined using a bioassay-directed fractionation methodology. A sediment sample was extracted using a Soxhlet apparatus and the resulting extract was fractionated into compound classes using an alumina clean-up step and high performance liquid chromatographic techniques. The resulting fractions were subjected to bioassays using TA98- and TA100-like strains modified by the inclusion of genes for the activating enzymes nitroreductase and O-acetyl-transferase. The majority of the mutagenic activity displayed by the sample extract was found to be present in the fraction containing the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Extracts of the PAH-containing fraction displayed dramatically higher responses with the TA100 type strains with metabolic activation. Further separation of the PAH-containing fraction showed the majority of the biological activity coeluted with PAH having molecular masses of 276, 278, and 302 amu.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Marvin
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: McCarry
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Bryant
mesh_terms: D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005618:Fresh Water; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009864:Ontario; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical