Hydrocarbon humps in the marine environment: synthesis, toxicity, and aqueous solubility of monoaromatic compounds.

A recent study has shown that some monoaromatic hydrocarbon constituents of the so-called unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) or gas chromatographic humps, which are widespread in the marine environment, are toxic to the mussel Mytilus edulis. Here we describe the synthesis and toxicological assessment of 6-cyclohexyltetralin, 7-cyclohexyl-1-methyltetralin, and 7-cyclohexyl-1-n-propyltetralin, which contain structural features consistent with some monoaromatic UCM hydrocarbons. The compounds were all toxic to M. edulis when measured in the assay used previously to determine the toxicity of a monoaromatic UCM. The aqueous solubilities of the hydrocarbons in fresh and seawater at different temperatures were determined and found to range from about 10 to 110 microg/L (10-60 microg/L in seawater at 15 degrees C). Further studies of the aromatic UCM composition of a wide range of oils and oil residues are required to determine whether such alkylated compounds as 7-cyclohexyl-1-methyltetralin and 7-cyclohexyl-1-n-propyltetralin or their analogues are widespread in oils. If these aromatic compounds prove to be important in UCMs, toxicity experiments should be conducted with other biological end points and monitoring studies of pollutant hydrocarbons should probably include measurement of aromatic UCM hydrocarbons.