Relation of tributyltin and triphenyltin equilibrium sorption and kinetic accumulation in carp and Ceratophyllum demersum.

Comparatively limited knowledge is known about the accumulation processes of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) in fish and aquatic plant in the freshwater environment, which has hindered a full understanding of their bioaccumulation potential and ecological risks. In the present study, sorption of TBT and TPT on dead biota of both carp and C. demersum from water via the batch equilibrium technique as well as uptake of them on live biota of both carp and C. demersum from water at a static and a dynamic kinetics tests were investigated, respectively. Both TBT and TPT exhibit a high affinity in carps and C. demersum. And C. demersum has a faster metabolism either for TBT or TPT than carp. The apparent uptake values (C = 1904-8831 μg/kg) or bioconcentration factor (BCF = 3333-44000 L/kg) were one or two orders of magnitude higher than that of estimated by a simple sorption (405-472 μg/kg) or lipid model (74.5-149.6 μg/kg) for carp, indicating the uptake of TBT and TPT did not only depend on lipids but also oxygen ligands or macromolecules such as amino acids and proteins of the living organism. In contrast, the apparent C values (149.1-926.4 μg/kg) of both TBT and TPT were lower than that of estimated by sorption model (1341-1902 μg/kg) for C. demersum, which were due to the rapid metabolic rate of them, especially for TBT. But no relation was observed between TBT and TPT concentrations and lipid contents in C. demersum.