Characterization of aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists in sediments of Wenyu River, Beijing, China.
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonistic (Ah-agonistic) effects of 23 sediments from Wenyu River in Beijing, China were evaluated using the H4IIE cell bioassay. Five samples were selected for chemical analysis of most concerned Ah-agonists, i.e. polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). All raw sediment extracts induced significant Ah-agonistic effects, and the bioassay-derived 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) equivalents of raw extracts (TEQ(raw)s) ranged from 8.5 to 336.0 pg/g dry weight (dw). Chemical analysis-derived TEQs (TEQ(chem)s) ranged from 20.5 to 64.8 pg/g dw. When raw extracts were purified by sulphuric acid silica gel column to derive acid stable fraction, the TCDD equivalents in this fraction (TEQ(stable)s) ranged from 2.7 to 63.8 pg/g dw. PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs contributed about 51.4-72.1%, 1.2-7.3%, and 16.4-34.8% of TEQ(stable)s, respectively, and the sum was 69.1-108.6%. Therefore, about 65.0% of TEQ(raw)s could be attributed to acid labile fraction and only 3.3-9.6% to PAHs. These observations suggested that acid stable fraction and labile fraction contributed together to total Ah-agonistic effects in the sediments, and PCBs and PCDFs might be the two main components in acid stable Ah-agonists. The proposed approach using both H4IIE cell bioassay and chemical analysis could be used for characterization and prioritization of Ah-agonists in river sediments and helpful to the following progression of ecological remediation.
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
Jianping
J
Luo
Mei
M
Ma
Jinmiao
J
Zha
Zijian
Z
Wang
D000818:Animals; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D001681:Biological Assay; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002681:China; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon / Q000819:agonists*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
D001572:Benzofurans; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C023614:dibenzofuran