title: Analysis of organochlorine pesticides in coral (Porites evermanni) samples using accelerated solvent extraction and gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry.
abstract: A gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry method was developed for analysis of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in coral samples, which were extracted with accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and cleaned up on a sulfuric acid-modified silica gel column. The optimal ASE conditions were found to be 100 degrees C and 2000 psi, with a mixture of acetone and methylene chloride (1:1, v/v). The target analytes include hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs, specifically, alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-HCH isomers), heptachlor, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), o,p'-, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (o,p'-, p,p'-DDT), o,p'-, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (o,p'-, p,p'-DDE), and o,p'-, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (o,p'-, p,p'-DDD). Standard sand samples were used as an alternative matrix spiked with OCP standards to determine the method precision and accuracy. Average recoveries of OCPs ranged from 82% to 102%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 3%-6%, at a level of 10 ng/g and from 50% to 68%, with RSDs of 13%-19% at a level of 2 ng/g. The developed method was applied for analysis of OCPs in coral samples collected from Tern Island and Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The concentrations of HCB were 7-26 pg/g dry weight in the samples from Bikini Atoll and 3-45 pg/g in those from Tern Island, and heptachlor concentrations were 208-2200 and 44-104 pg/g in the coral samples from Bikini Atoll and Tern Island, respectively. (summation operator)HCH (sum of alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-HCH) were 8-82 pg/g in Bikini Atoll coral and 86-629 pg/g in Tern island coral, and (summation operator)DDT (sum of o,p'-, p,p'-DDD, o,p'-, p,p'-DDE, and o,p'- p,p'-DDT) were 80-212 pg/g in Bikini Atoll coral and 593-3165 pg/g in Tern Island coral. The results suggest that coral is a viable indicator species for pollution monitoring, which pollutants and their concentrations may be related to dated carbonate layers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Dongli
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiusheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Qing X
authors.initials: QX
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008752:Methylene Chloride / Q000737:chemistry; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D007306:Insecticides; D012997:Solvents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000096:Acetone; D008752:Methylene Chloride