Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of pyrene and 1-hydroxypyrene in whelks as determined by liquid chromatography using fluorescence and mass spectrometry detection

The development and application of analytical methods for the investigation of the fate of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pyrene and the phenol 1-hydroxypyrene in whelks is described. Buccinurn undatum and Neptunea lyrata were exposed to the contaminants in their diet. Exposures compared the fate of pyrene and 1-hydroxypyrene in B. undatum and the fate of 1-hydroxypyrene in the two species. Liquid chromatography using fluorescence and mass spectrometry detection was used to identify and measure pyrene derivatives in soft tissue extracts. Eight conjugates were identified including two compounds not previously reported in the literature: pyrenediol glucuronide sulfate and a new isomer of pyrenediol disulfate. A study of the tissue distribution of contaminants using chemical extraction and autoradiography as well as the analysis of environmentally exposed whelks was also carried out. Results showed whelks were better able to biotransform hydroxypyrene and that diol conjugates were also important metabolites of pyrene.