Environmental Sciences Group, Royal Military College of Canada, PO Box 17000 Station Forces, Kingston, Ontario, K7K 7B4 Canada.
Sci Total Environ. 2013 Jul 1;456-457:148-53. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.03.066. Epub 2013 Apr 12.
Arsenic is naturally found in the tissues of marine animals, usually as the non-toxic arsenical arsenobetaine, but exposure to elevated arsenic concentrations in the environment may alter the arsenic species distribution within tissues of the organism. This study examined the arsenic species in the tissues of the marine periwinkle (Littorina littorea) along an arsenic concentration gradient in the sediment. The arsenicals in L. littorea were examined using the complementary analytical methods high performance liquid chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICPMS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Total arsenic concentrations in the periwinkle tissues ranged from 56 to 840 mg·kg(-1) dry weight (equivalent to 13 to 190 mg·kg(-1) wet weight). Inorganic arsenicals were found to be positively correlated with total arsenic concentrations (R(2)=0.993) and reached 600 mg·kg(-1) dry weight, the highest reported to date in marine organisms. These high inorganic arsenic concentrations within this low trophic organism pose a potential toxicological risk to higher trophic consumers.
砷在海洋动物的组织中自然存在，通常为无毒的砷甜菜碱，但暴露于环境中升高的砷浓度可能会改变生物组织内的砷形态分布。本研究在沉积物中砷浓度梯度范围内，检测了海洋藤壶（Littorina littorea）组织中的砷形态。使用高效液相色谱与电感耦合等离子体质谱（HPLC-ICPMS）和 X 射线吸收光谱（XAS）这两种互补分析方法检测了藤壶中的砷化合物。藤壶组织中的总砷浓度范围为 56 至 840mg·kg(-1)干重（相当于 13 至 190mg·kg(-1)湿重）。发现无机砷与总砷浓度呈正相关（R(2)=0.993），达到 600mg·kg(-1)干重，这是迄今为止在海洋生物中报道的最高值。这些低营养级生物体内的高无机砷浓度对高营养级消费者构成了潜在的毒理学风险。
