Rate of microbial transformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a chromatographic quantification procedure

A chromatographic procedure has been developed for isolating and quantifying microbial transformation products of 14C-labeled polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Transformation rates of naphthalene, anthracene, benz(a)anthracene, and benz(a)pyrene by a mixed bacterial population have been measured. With this procedure, extremely slow or incomplete transformations may be quantified that would not be detectable by previously used techniques.