Tetrabromobisphenol-A/S and Nine Novel Analogs in Biological Samples from the Chinese Bohai Sea: Implications for Trophic Transfer

Abstract

Tetrabromobisphenol-A/S (TBBPA/S) analogs have raised substantial concern because of their adverse effects and potential bioaccumulative properties, such as TBBPA bis­(allyl ether) (TBBPA-BAE) and TBBPA bis­(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-BDBPE). In this study, a comprehensive method for simultaneous determination of TBBPA/S and nine novel analogs, including TBBPA-BAE, TBBPA-BDBPE, TBBPS-BDBPE, TBBPA mono­(allyl ether) (TBBPA-MAE), TBBPA mono­(2-bromoallyl ether) (TBBPA-MBAE), TBBPA mono­(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-MDBPE), TBBPS-MAE, TBBPS-MBAE, and TBBPS-MDBPE in biological samples was developed. The distribution patterns and trophic transfer properties of TBBPA/S and analogs in various biological samples collected from the Chinese Bohai Sea were then studied in detail. For the first time, TBBPA-MBAE and TBBPS-BDBPE were detected in biological samples and TBBPA-MBAE was identified as a byproduct. The concentrations of TBBPA and analogs ranged from ND (not detected or below the method detection limit) to 2782.8 ng/g lipid weight (lw), and for TBBPS and analogs ranged from ND to 927.8 ng/g lw. High detection frequencies (>86%) for TBBPA, TBBPS and TBBPA-MAE, TBBPA-MDBPE, TBBPS-MAE, TBBPS-MBAE, and TBBPS-MDBPE were obtained. Meanwhile, TBBPA, TBBPS, and these five analogs displayed trophic dilution tendencies due to significantly negative correlations between trophic levels and lipid-corrected concentrations together with the trophic magnification factors (from 0.31 to 0.55). The results also indicated the novel TBBPA-MAE, TBBPA-MBAE, TBBPA-MDBPE, TBBPS-MAE, TBBPS-MBAE, and TBBPS-MDBPE could be generated not only as byproducts, but also as the probable transformation products of commercial TBBPA/S derivatives.

Thin-layer chromatography coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for determining tetrabromobisphenol A/S and their derivatives in soils

“…The MDLs and MQLs for TBBPA/S and their derivatives ranged from 0.023 to 0.087 g g −1 dw and from 0.076 to 0.29 g g −1 dw, respectively ( Table 1). The MDLs of TBBPA (0.087 g g −1 ) and TBBPA-BDBPE (0.036 g g −1 ) were comparable with that obtained using HPLC-DAD (0.015 g g −1 of TBBPA [22], 0.006 g g −1 of TBBPA-BDBPE [7] for biological samples).…”

“…Their universality in various environmental media have been revealed, such as TBBPA bis(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-BDBPE) in the atmosphere [4] as well as in indoor dust [5], and TBBPA-BDBPE, TBBPA bis(allyl ether) (TBBPA-BAE) and TBBPS bis(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPS-BDBPE) in herring gull eggs [6]. The toxicological effects related to these BFRs, such as endocrine disruption effects, neurotoxicity and reproductive development toxicity, indicate their potential threats to organisms [7]. Therefore, monitoring these compounds by using a convenient and effective method has become a critical issue for studying their environmental behaviors, fate and toxicities [7][8][9][10].…”

“…The toxicological effects related to these BFRs, such as endocrine disruption effects, neurotoxicity and reproductive development toxicity, indicate their potential threats to organisms [7]. Therefore, monitoring these compounds by using a convenient and effective method has become a critical issue for studying their environmental behaviors, fate and toxicities [7][8][9][10].…”

“…HPLC-DAD, a practical method for determining polar compounds, has also been proposed as a supplementary method for determining TBBPA/S and their derivatives [21][22][23], such as TBBPA-BDBPE and TBBPA-BAE in soil [9] and biological samples [7,23,24], TBBPA in food [25], water [26] and biological samples [21,22]. But it often suffers from the interfering substances due to its identification mainly depending on the retention time of target compounds [9].…”

Sensitive immunoassay for simultaneous determination of tetrabromobisphenol A bis(2-hydroxyethyl) ether and tetrabromobisphenol A mono(hydroxyethyl) ether: An effective and reliable strategy to estimate the typical tetrabromobisphenol A derivative and byproduct in aquatic environments

“…According to data from the Bromine Science Environmental Forum, approximately 18% of the TBBPA produced was used in manufacturing derivatives (Liu et al, 2017). The extensive use of these chemicals has led to their widespread occurrence in the environment: several derivatives of these substances have been found in water, sewage sludge, soils, and sediments, as well as in the herring gull eggs and marine animals (Letcher and Chu, 2010;Liu et al, 2016aLiu et al, , 2016bQu et al, 2016aQu et al, , 2011Qu et al, , 2013Shi et al, 2009).…”