Untersuchungen zum Vorkommen polycyclischer Moschus-Duftstoffe in verschiedenen Umweltkompartimenten

New flavors have been detected in GC/MS chromatograms of surface and sewage waters and fish analyzed for nitro musk compounds. This article names the polycyclic musk flavors 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4, 6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta-(g)-2-benzopyrane (HHCB, known for instance under the trade names: Galaxolide® and Abbalide®), 7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyltetralin (AHTN, known for instance under the trade names: Tonalide® and Fixolide®) and 4-Acetyl-1,1-dimethyl-6-tert.butylindane (ADBI, known for instance under the trade names: Celestolide® and Crysolide®). These substances, which are widely used in the cosmetics and flavor industries, here have been established for the first time in the aquatic environment. HHCB, AHTN and ADBI — as relatively non-polar lipophilic chemicals — like organochlorine pesticides and PCBs after extraction and consecutive purification by gel permeation and silicagel adsorption chromatography are accessible to analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Mass spectra show typical mass fragments which allow an unambigous identification and quantification. First results for surface and sewage waters and fish underline the persistence and a relatively high bioconcentration potential of these substances and suggest their ubiqitious distribution in the aquatic environment.     

Experimente zum Verbleib von Cyanid nach Aufnahme in Pflanzen

Free cyanide (prussic acid) can be degraded by many organisms. Experimental data on the kinetics of degradation by plants, however, are rare. We experimentally determined the mass balance of potassium cyanide in the system nutrient solution/plant/air In the presence of living willows (Salix alba) and light, free cyanide is almost completely eliminated from the nutrient solution, also by a willow cell suspension (> 99%) and even by a dried-out stem (> 80%). The loss is smaller when the willow is autoclaved (30%). Without a willow, the CN can be recovered to more than 89%. The loss depends on light and transpiration. Volatilization and the formation of complexed cyanide are of minor relevance for the elimination of free CN. The most plausible loss process is metabolism by plants. The transfer into the roots and stem does not change with the light/dark-rhythm. The transfer factor (mg CN/kg plant fw/mg CN/l solution) after 24 h, and related to the initial concentration in solution, is between 2 and 3 for roots, 0.1 to 0.6 for leaves and 0.2 for stems. In the roots of willows and elderberries which were growing on the former gas worksite in Holte, Denmark, high concentrations of cyanides were found. In leaves and fruits, concentrations are a factor of 10 to 1000-fold lower and up to as high as that found in non-exposed control plants. Due to these results, a cyanide-polluted site in Denmark has been remediated with poplar trees.     

Untersuchungen zur Umweltchemie,Kontaminationserkundung und -bewertung

Leachate and groundwater have been investigated at a site contaminated with ammunition residues. The presence of nitroaromatic compounds and their degradation products was investigated by GC-MS-screening methods. Nitro-, amino-nitro-, and amino-aromatic substances of the ?TNT type“ were analyzed along with polar substances such as 3,5-dinitro-o-cresol and 4,6-dinitro-o-cresol. Investigation of these primary metabolites is important for risk assessment and for determining clean-up measures     

Beitrag 3: Gedanken zum Schutzziel ‘Artengemeinschaften’

Within the context of the EU Water Framework Directive (EUWFD), there is a demand for a holistic quality improvement of aquatic systems. Therefore, it is obvious that biodiversity is one of the quality components and hence has to be considered in detail. The ranking of habitats, based on biodiversity indices, depends on the specific measurement selected. It is postulated that a ranking of habitats by means of a biodiversity index may be ambiguous. Concepts to resolve this dilemma are demonstrated, and a graphical formalism is introduced which up to now has only been used in quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and theoretical chemistry: The YOUNG-diagram technique.     

Untersuchungen zur Physiologie von Volemit in der marinen Braunalge Pelvetia canaliculata

The heptitol volemitol, formerly only known in some fungi, lichens, and roots of Primula species, has recently been shown to occur also in the marine brown alga Pelvetia canaficulata (L.) Decne, et Thur. in considerable amounts. Photosynthesis experiments in H¹⁴CO _- ³ provided evidence that, among other substances, ¹⁴C-volemitol is formed almost 30 sec after beginning of ¹⁴C-assimilation. ¹⁴C-volemitol was not detectable after dark fixation. Percentage labelling of this polyol rose from 4.5% after 30 sec to 12% after 10 min. These data show that, in P. canaliculata, volemitol is accumulated during photosynthesis beside mannitol, the major constituent of the soluble fraction. Biosynthesis of volemitol proceeds in the alga only, not in its systemic fungal endosymbiont Mycosphaerella pelvetiae, since the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum, infected with the same fungus, doess not synthesize a heptitol. Having regard to these metabolic characteristics, we conclude that there is no lichenoid interrelationship between Pelvetia/Ascophyllum and their systemic fungus Mycosphaerella.