Heavy metal bioaccumulation in selected medicinal plants collected from Khetri copper mines and comparison with those collected from fertile soil in Haridwar,India

Heavy metal distribution in medicinal plants is gaining importance not only as an alternative medicine, but also for possible concern due to effects of metal toxicity. The present study has been focused on emphasizing the heavy metal status and bioaccumulation factors of V, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se (essential metals) and Cr, Ni, Cd, As and Pb (potentially toxic metals) in medicinal plants grown under two different environmental conditions e.g., near to Khetri copper mine and those in fertile soils of Haridwar, both in India, using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (relative method) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The copper levels in the medicinal plants from Khetri were found to be 3-4 folds higher (31.6–76.5 mg kg^?1) than those from Haridwar samples (7.40–15.3 mg kg^?1), which is correlated with very high copper levels (763 mg kg^?1) in Khetri soil. Among various heavy metals, Cr (2.60–5.92 mg kg^?1), Cd (1.47–2.97 mg kg^?1) and Pb (3.97–6.63 mg kg^?1) are also higher in concentration in the medicinal plants from Khetri. The essential metals like Mn (36.4–69.3 mg kg^?1), Fe (192–601 mg kg^?1), Zn (24.9–49.9 mg kg^?1) and Se (0.13–0.91 mg kg^?1) and potentially toxic metals like Ni (3.09–9.01 mg kg^?1) and As (0.41–2.09 mg kg^?1) did not show much variations in concentration in the medicinal plants from both Khetri and Haridwar. The medicinal plants from Khetri, e.g., Ocimum sanctum, Cassia fistula, Withania somnifera and Azadirachta Indica were found rich in Ca and Mg contents while Aloe barbadensis showed moderately high Ca and Mg. Higher levels of Ca-Mg were found to correlate with Zn (except Azadirachta Indica). The bioaccumulation factors (BAFS) of the heavy metals were estimated to understand the soil-to-plant transfer pattern of the heavy metals. Significantly lower BAF values of Cu and Cr were found in the medicinal plants from Khetri, indicating majority fraction of these metals are precipitated and were immobilized species unsuitable for plant uptake. Overall, Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) showed very high metal bioaccumulation.     

改进测定水中氨氮分子吸收光谱法的试验研究

水中氨氮含量是反应水质状况的重要指标。文章对测定水中氨氮气相分子吸收光谱法(标准号HJ/T195-2005)进行了改进试验研究。第一,对氧化剂的配比进行了改进,使氨氮的测定范围扩展至100μg。第二,对标准HJ/T195-2005中直接使用亚硝酸钠标准溶液做标准曲线的处理方式也做了探讨。通过一系列对比实验认为,应用硫酸铵标准溶液做工作曲线更加准确合理。最后应用改进后的气相分子吸收光谱法和纳氏比色法或滴定法对多种实际废水样品进行同时测定。结果表明,改进后的气相分子吸收光谱法测定氨氮的范围更宽,灵敏度更高和准确度更好。     

Study of metabolites from the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments

The PAH metabolites produced during degradation of fluorene, phenanthrene and pyrene by a bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments were analyzed using the on-fiber silylation solid-phase microextraction (SPME) combining with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method. Seventeen metabolites at trace levels were identified in different PAH degradation cultures based on the full scan mass spectra. In fluorene degradation cultures, 1-, 2-, 3- and 9-hydroxyfluorene, fluorenone, and phthalic acid were detected. In phenanthrene and pyrene degradation cultures, various common metabolites such as phenanthrene and pyrene dihydrodiols, mono-hydroxy phenanthrene, dihydroxy pyrene, lactone and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene, methyl ester, and phthalic acid were found. The detection of various common and novel metabolites demonstrates that SPME combining with GC–MS is a quick and convenient method for identification as well as monitoring the real time changes of metabolite concentrations throughout the degradation processes. The knowledge of PAH metabolic pathways and kinetics within indigenous bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments contributes to enhance the bioremediation efficiency of PAH in real environment.     

TA-FTIR/MS用于硝酸铵及其混合物的热化学行为研究

为评价物料混合对危险化学品热化学行为的影响,采用热分析-红外/质谱联用技术(TA-FTIR/MS)研究硝酸铵、柠檬酸和蔗糖的混合物的热化学行为。通过对硝酸铵及其混合物的分解温度和分解过程中逸出气体的分析,发现硝酸铵、柠檬酸和蔗糖的混合物热分解温度分别降低至135℃和153℃,而硝酸铵与甲基纤维素的混合物分解温度与硝酸铵基本相同为201℃,且各混合体系的气相分解产物均有氮氧化物(NOX),H2O和CO2。结果表明,混合物受热后其中的硝酸铵首先分解为硝酸和氨气;酸性物质和还原性物质由于对硝酸的分解反应有催化作用,使得混合物的热稳定性下降。     

Associations of trace elements in aerosol at the south Adriatic coast

We applied statistical methods to the data of a 5-year sampling period to characterize the features of trace elements in airborne particulate matter at the South Adriatic Coast. The analysis of surface soil samples was also performed. The data were processed by cluster analysis, enrichment factor determination and receptor rose statistics. It is shown that the principal element association consists of Fe, Mn and Ti originating from surface material resuspension. Hg and Se were shown to originate from more complex natural and anthropogenic processes. A strong emission source of Cd and Se was identified in the SSE direction.Selected article from the Regional Symposium on Chemistry and Environment Krusevac, Serbia, June 2003, organized by Dr. Branimir Jovancicevic.     

Detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using a high performance-single particle aerosol mass spectrometer

The real-time detection of the mixing states of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-PAHs in ambient particles is of great significance for analyzing the source, aging process, and health effects of PAHs and nitro-PAHs; yet there is still few effective technology to achieve this type of detection. In this study, 11 types of PAH and nitro-PAH standard samples were analyzed using a high performance-single particle aerosol mass spectrometer (HP-SPAMS) in lab studies. The identification principles ‘parent ions’ and ‘mass-to-charge (m/z) = 77’ of each compound were obtained in this study. It was found that different laser energies did not affect the identification of the parent ions. The comparative experiments of ambient atmospheric particles, cooking and biomass burning emitted particles with and without the addition of PAHs were conducted and ruled out the interferences from primary and secondary organics on the identification of PAHs. Besides, the reliability of the characteristic ions extraction method was evaluated through the comparative study of similarity algorithm and deep learning algorithm. In addition, the real PAH-containing particles from vehicle exhaust emissions and ambient particles were also analyzed. This study improves the ability of single particle mass spectrometry technology to detect PAHs and nitro-PAHs, and HP-SPAMS was superior to SPAMS for detecting single particles containing PAHs and nitro-PAHs. This study provides support for subsequent ambient observations to identify the characteristic spectrum of single particles containing PAHs and nitro-PAHs.     

Ligand exchange rate of metal-nom complexes by EDTA

Metal complexation by natural ligands is important for metal transport and distribution in surface and ground water. The goal of the work was to study the ligand exchange rate for two important metal ions in natural aquatic systems (Al, Fe) was determined using EDTA and natural organic matter (NOM) of humic type as ligands. After adding EDTA to a solution containing metal-NOM complexes, these complexes dissociated and metal-EDTA complexes were formed. Metal-NOM complexes were separated from metal-EDTA complexes with the help of size-exclusion chromatography and detected by on-line inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Injecting the samples into the system over time after addition of EDTA allowed us to measure the rate of the exchange of NOM by EDTA. The experiments could be well described with a first-order rate law assuming that the dissociation of the metal-NOM complexes is the rate-determining step. The exchange rate of Fe was found to be faster than that of Al. This corresponds well with the exchange rate of water molecules from the coordination sphere of the metal ions, which is also faster for Fe than for Al. Furthermore, the UV and the fluorescence signal of the chromatograms were measured. The results indicate that no disaggregation of NOM molecules took place, although about 75-85% of the aggregate-forming metal ions exchanged NOM by EDTA in their coordination sphere. This suggests clearly the fundamental role of NOM in colloidal transport of metals and in their bioavailability.     

Distribution of endocrine disruptors in the Llobregat River basin (Catalonia, NE Spain)

The Llobregat basin is a Mediterranean fluvial system with major agricultural, urban and industrial impacts. We combined chemical quantification by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with electrospray interface (LC-ESI-MS) and the recombinant yeast assay (RYA) assays to estimate the loads of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) along the basin. Chemical analysis revealed maximum concentrations (at μg l⁻¹ level) of alkylphenols at the lower course of the Llobregat River, which correlated with high levels of estrogenic activity detected by RYA. Analysis by RYA and LC-ESI-MS of influent and effluent waters from four sewage treatment plants (STP) discharging into the basin showed the removal of 80–95% of EDCs by STP treatment. Chemical analysis data and RYA data showed a quasi-linear correlation, demonstrating the complementariness of both methods. Our data suggest that the concentrations of the analysed compounds were enough to explain the total estrogenicity of water and STP samples from the Llobregat basin.     

SPME-GC/MS法测定垃圾渗沥液中双酚A

建立了固相微萃取-气相色谱质谱联用法测定垃圾渗沥液中双酚A的方法,并用于广州大田山垃圾渗沥液中双酚A含量的测定。对影响萃取的参数进行了优化,实验选用涂层厚度为85μm聚丙烯酸酯(PA)萃取纤维,在搅拌速度为1200r/min、NaCl浓度为20%、pH2.0和室温条件下萃取60min。方法的线性范围为0.1～100μg/L,检出限为0.03μg/L,精密度为6.6%。应用本方法监测了广州大田山垃圾渗沥液中BPA的含量在生物法处理过程中的变化情况。     

火焰原子吸收法测定苹果中波尔多液的农药残留

通过原子吸收法测定苹果果皮、果肉上波尔多液的农药残留铜的含量,结果表明:喷洒了波尔多液的苹果果皮上铜含量明显大于果肉,在果皮上有一定的农药残留;而未喷洒波尔多液的苹果果皮和果肉中铜的含量的差异很小。