Comparison of the bioavailability of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in a B[a]P-contaminated soil using the different addition approaches

Multigenerational effects of cultivating transgenic maize straw on earthworms: A combined laboratory and field experiment

The cultivation of genetically modified (GM) maize has aroused notable public concern related to the potential risks to soil fauna caused by the release of foreign proteins. In this study, the potential effects of cultivating the GM maize variety DBN9936, which exhibits the expression of the Cry1Ab and EPSPS proteins, on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were evaluated under laboratory and field conditions. No significant differences in the survival, body weight, cocoon production, or hatching of earthworms fed GM or non-GM DBN318 maize were detected after three consecutive generations in a laboratory test. The enzymatic activity assay results revealed no significant differences in superoxide dismutase (SOD) or catalase (CAT) enzyme activity between the GM and non-GM maize varieties. Furthermore, exogenous Cry1Ab and EPSPS proteins were undetectable in the gut tissues of earthworms raised with GM maize straw. GM maize cultivation imposed no adverse effects on the species composition or density of soil earthworms in the two consecutive years during the field test, and the soil earthworm species, total number of earthworms and density of each earthworm species did not significantly differ between the GM maize and non-GM maize lines. On the basis of our findings, we concluded that the cultivation of the GM maize variety DBN9936 does not pose a risk to earthworms.

Modelling polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bioavailability in historically contaminated soils with six in-vitro chemical extractions and three earthworm ecotypes

Accurate prediction of organic contaminant bioavailability for risk assessment in ecological applications is hindered by limited validation on relevant bioassay species. Here, six in-vitro chemical extraction methods (butanol, non-buffered and buffered hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD, Buf-HPCD), Tenax, potassium persulfate oxidation, polyoxymethylene solid phase extraction (POM)) were tested for PAH bioaccumulation prediction in three earthworm ecotypes with dissimilar exposures, Amynthas sp., Eisenia fetida, and Lumbricus terrestris, in historically contaminated soils from manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites. Extractions were compared directly and modelled in a calculation approach using equilibrium partitioning theory (EqPT) with a novel combination of different organic carbon/octanol-water partitioning parameters (K_OC and K_OW). In the direct comparison approach Buf-HPCD showed the closest prediction of accumulation for burrowing Amynthas sp. and L. terrestris (within 1.5 and 3.1, respectively), but Tenax and POM showed the closest approximation for E. fetida (within 1.1 and 0.9, respectively). The optimum method for predicting PAH bioaccumulation in the calculation approach depended on earthworm species and the partitioning parameters used in equations of the four models, but overall POM, which was independent of K_OC, showed the closest approximation of accumulation, within a factor of 2.5 across all species. This work effectively identifies the optimum in-vitro based approaches for PAH bioavailability prediction in earthworms as a model soil health indicator for ecological risk assessment within regulatory and remediation decision frameworks.

Pressurized liquid extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled to a fluorescence detector and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry for the determination of benzo(a)pyrene metabolites in liver tissue of an animal model of colon cancer

Since metabolism is implicated in the carcinogenesis of toxicants, an efficient extraction method together with an analytical method is warranted to quantify tissue burdens of a carcinogen and/or its metabolites. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate a pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) method for measuring metabolites of benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P; a food-borne carcinogen] from tissue samples. The sample extraction was performed separately by PLE and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). PLE followed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to online fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) was used to quantify separated analytes; and by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-APCI-MS/MS) were used for confirmation purposes. The UHPLC-MS/MS was set-up in the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) positive interface with selective reaction monitoring (SRM). The analytical performance characteristics of the PLE technique was assessed at different temperatures, pressure, number of cycles and solvent types. A methanol + chloroform + water mixture (30:15:10, v/v/v) yielded greater recoveries at an extraction temperature range of 60-80°C, pressure of 10 MPa and an extraction time of 10 min. The PLE method was validated by the analysis of spiked tissue samples and measuring recoveries and limits of quantitation for the analytes of interest using HPLC-FLD equipment. The optimized PLE-HPLC-FLD method was used to quantify the concentrations of B(a)P metabolites in liver samples obtained from a colon cancer animal model. Overall, PLE performed better in terms of extraction efficiency, recovery of B(a)P metabolites and shortened sample preparation time when compared with the classic LLE method.

Influence of pH, electrical conductivity and ageing on the extractability of benzo[a]pyrene in two contrasting soils

Higher soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were suspected to result in higher extractability and bioavailability of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in soils. In this study, we investigated the influence of pH, EC and ageing on the extractability of B[a]P in two contracting soils (varied largely in soil texture, clay mineralogy and organic carbon content) over 4 months. Dilute sodium hydroxide (0.2 mol L^-1) and sodium chloride (0.1 mol L^-1) solutions were used to adjust soil pH and EC either separately or simultaneously. Extractability of B[a]P in these soils was monitored using a mild solvent extraction using butanol (BuOH, end-over-end shake over 24 h), and an exhaustive mix-solvent extraction using dichloromethane/acetone (DCM/Ace, v:v = 1:1) facilitated by sonication and a subsequent NaOH saponification method following the DCM/Ace extraction. Results showed that increased pH and/or EC significantly increased the B[a]P extractability in the sandy soil (GIA). Variance analysis of contribution of pH and/or EC modification and ageing time on changes in B[a]P extractability indicated that in GIA > 55% and over 25% of the changes in B[a]P extractability was attributed to increased pH&EC and pH only respectively. While ageing resulted in >85% of the change in B[a]P extractability in the clayey soil (BDA), following by increased pH&EC (contribution < 15%). Large amount of non-extractable residue (NER) were formed over the ageing period, up to 95% and 79% in GIA/BDA and its modified soils, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between B[a]P BuOH extractability and the exhaustive sequential extraction using DCM/Ace followed by NaOH saponification for all soils (p < 0.001). With slopes of the correlations close to 1, our results indicated that the simple mild solvent BuOH extraction was equivalent to the complex sequential DCM/Ace and NaOH saponification extraction in these soils.