Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2025
08:54
NMR Spectroscopy as a Robust Tool for the Rapid Evaluation of the Lipid Profile of Fish Oil Supplements
Published on: May 1, 2017
26.0K
Hydrocarbons in fish tissues: a group-type approach
Anastasia D Kudryavtseva1, Andrey A Shelepchikov2,3, Elena Ya Mir-Kadyrova2
1Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Leninsky Prosp., 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia. a.kudryavtseva1@gmail.com.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
|February 25, 2025
Summary
Accurate petroleum hydrocarbon analysis in biota is crucial. This study introduces a mass-spectrometry method to distinguish petroleum from biogenic compounds, preventing overestimation of contamination levels in fish after oil spills.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
- Ecotoxicology
Background:
- Biological samples often contain biogenic compounds that interfere with petroleum hydrocarbon analysis.
- Accurate determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) is essential for environmental monitoring, especially after spills.
- Existing methods can overestimate contamination due to the presence of similar biogenic compounds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and implement an approach for determining TPHs in biota without biogenic interference.
- To accurately quantify petroleum contamination in fish following a diesel fuel spill.
- To characterize the molecular composition of petroleum contaminants in environmental samples.
Main Methods:
- Utilized mass-spectrometric group-type analysis combined with n-alkanes determination.
- Analyzed hydrocarbon and heteroatomic compound content and molecular mass distributions.
- Applied the method to Coregonus sardinella samples from the Pyasina River post-diesel spill.
Main Results:
- The new approach accurately distinguished petroleum compounds from biogenic ones, preventing overestimation.
- TPHs in Coregonus sardinella were determined to be 3.5 μg/g, significantly lower than the total organic compound content of 15.4 µg/g.
- Petroleum compounds identified were consistent with weathered medium oil fractions, including various aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons.
Conclusions:
- The implemented mass-spectrometric approach effectively resolves biogenic interference in TPH analysis.
- Integral TPH measurements can lead to significant overestimation of environmental contamination.
- The method provides detailed characterization of petroleum contaminants, aiding in source identification and risk assessment.
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