Science and Technology Branch, Pacific Environmental Science Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pacific and Yukon Laboratory for Environmental Testing, North Vancouver, B.C, Canada.
Institute for Environmental Change and Society, University of Regina, SK, Regina, Canada.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 Feb 20;195(3):416. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-10941-3.
Current oil spill forensic identification of source oils relies upon hydrocarbon biomarkers resistant to weathering. This international technique was developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), under EN 15522-2 Oil Spill Identification guidelines. The number of biomarkers have expanded at pace with technological advances, while distinguishing new biomarkers becomes more challenging due to interference of isobaric compounds, matrix effects, and high cost of weathering experiments. Application of high-resolution mass spectrometry enabled exploration of potential polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycle (PANH) oil biomarkers. The instrumentation showed reduction in isobaric and matrix interferences, allowing for identification of low-level PANH and alkylated PANHs (APANHs). Weathered oil samples, obtained from a marine microcosm weathering experiment, enabled comparison with source oils to identify new, stable forensic biomarkers. This study highlighted eight new APANH diagnostic ratios that expanded the biomarker suite, increasing the confidence for identifying highly weathered oils back to their source oil.
目前，对溢油源油的法医鉴定依赖于抗风化的碳氢化合物生物标志物。这项国际技术由欧洲标准化委员会（CEN）根据《溢油鉴别指南》（EN 15522-2）开发。随着技术的进步，生物标志物的数量不断增加，而由于同量异位化合物、基质效应和风化实验成本高的干扰，区分新的生物标志物变得更加具有挑战性。高分辨率质谱的应用使人们能够探索潜在的多环芳烃氮杂环（PANH）油生物标志物。该仪器显示出同量异位和基质干扰的减少，从而能够识别低水平的 PANH 和烷基化 PANHs（APANHs）。从海洋微宇宙风化实验中获得的风化油样，使人们能够与源油进行比较，以确定新的、稳定的法医生物标志物。这项研究强调了八个新的 APANH 诊断比，扩大了生物标志物套件，增加了识别高度风化油回到其源油的信心。
