Subscriber access provided by NEW YORK UNIV
Article
Quantification of Short-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (SCCPs) by Deuterodechlorination Combined with Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Yuan Gao, Haijun Zhang, Lili Zou, Ping Wu, Zhengkun Yu, Xianbo Lu, and Jiping Chen Environ. Sci. Technol., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b05115 • Publication Date (Web): 03 Mar 2016 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on March 3, 2016
Just Accepted “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. They are posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication and author proofing. The American Chemical Society provides “Just Accepted” as a free service to the research community to expedite the dissemination of scientific material as soon as possible after acceptance. “Just Accepted” manuscripts appear in full in PDF format accompanied by an HTML abstract. “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been fully peer reviewed, but should not be considered the official version of record. They are accessible to all readers and citable by the Digital Object Identifier (DOI®). “Just Accepted” is an optional service offered to authors. Therefore, the “Just Accepted” Web site may not include all articles that will be published in the journal. After a manuscript is technically edited and formatted, it will be removed from the “Just Accepted” Web site and published as an ASAP article. Note that technical editing may introduce minor changes to the manuscript text and/or graphics which could affect content, and all legal disclaimers and ethical guidelines that apply to the journal pertain. ACS cannot be held responsible for errors or consequences arising from the use of information contained in these “Just Accepted” manuscripts.
Environmental Science & Technology is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Published by American Chemical Society. Copyright © American Chemical Society. However, no copyright claim is made to original U.S. Government works, or works produced by employees of any Commonwealth realm Crown government in the course of their duties.
Page 1 of 28
19
Environmental Science & Technology
ABSTRACT
20
Analysis of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) is extremely difficult because of their
21
complex compositions with thousands of isomers and homologues. A novel analytical method,
22
deuterodechlorination combined with high resolution gas chromatography–high resolution mass
23
spectrometry
24
deuterodechlorination of SCCPs with LiAlD4, and the formed deuterated n-alkanes of different
25
alkane chains can be distinguished readily from each other on the basis of their retention time
26
and fragment mass ([M]+) by HRGC–HRMS. An internal standard quantification of individual
27
SCCP congeners was achieved, in which branched C10-CPs and branched C12-CPs were used as
28
the extraction and reaction internal standards, respectively. A maximum factor of 1.26 of the
29
target SCCP concentrations were determined by this method, and the relative standard deviations
30
for quantification of total SCCPs were within 10%. This method was applied to determine the
31
congener compositions of SCCPs in commercial chlorinated paraffins, environmental and biota
32
samples after method validation. Low-chlorinated SCCP congeners (Cl1–4) were found to account
33
for 32.4%–62.4% of the total SCCPs. The present method provides an attractive perspective for
34
further studies on the toxicological and environmental characteristics of SCCPs.
35
INTRODUCTION
(HRGC–HRMS),
was
developed.
A
protocol
is
applied
in
the
36
Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) are synthetic mixtures of chlorinated n-alkanes
37
ranging from C10 to C13 with a chlorine content of 30%–70% (mass weight). As a constituent
38
part of chlorinated paraffins (CPs), SCCPs are extensively used in metal-working fluids, paints,
39
sealants, adhesives, and leather finishing agents as well as flame retardants and plasticizers in
40
rubbers and polymers.1 SCCPs are high production volume chemicals with total world
41
production of approximately 150 kt per year.1, 2 Most of the SCCPs are used by blending with
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
2
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 2 of 28
42
medium (C14−C17) and long (> C17) chain CP components.2 Because of their potential for long-
43
range transport, persistence in the environment and high toxicity to aquatic organisms, SCCPs
44
have been listed as “candidate” persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by the Convention’s POP
45
Review Committee (POPRC).3, 4
46
SCCPs have thousands of isomers via free radical chlorination with respect to C10−13 chains
47
bonding with various numbers of chlorine atoms and different chlorine positions, and thus it is
48
very difficult to completely separate SCCP congeners from each other on a GC capillary column.
49
Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) coupled with time-of-flight
50
mass spectrometry (TOF/MS) or micro electron capture detection (µECD) can remarkably
51
improve the separation of SCCP congeners in the GC section,5,
52
chromatographic separation of individual congeners with GC remains impossible.7 Therefore,
53
SCCPs have been described as “the most challenging group of substances to analyze and
54
quantify”.8
6
Nevertheless, complete
55
High resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) coupled with high/low resolution mass
56
spectrometry (HRMS or LRMS) in electron capture negative ionization (ECNI) mode has been
57
most commonly applied for the quantitative analysis of SCCPs in environmental matrices and
58
biota.5, 9−14 However, large quantification errors of 65%–940% can occur if the chlorine content
59
of the standard was changed or did not fit to the sample,15, 16 which is mainly resulted from the
60
strong dependence of the ECNI/MS response factors of SCCP congeners on their chlorine atom
61
numbers.7, 17 The highly chlorinated SCCP congeners are prone to have the higher ECNI/MS
62
response factors, while the low chlorinated congeners (Cl1−4) are not usually detected by
63
ECNI/MS. Many efforts have been made to decrease or offset the influence of chlorination
64
contents on the quantification of SCCPs. Zencak et al.10 used a mixture of methane and
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
3
Page 3 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
65
dichloromethane (DCM) (80: 20) as reagent gas for negative ion chemical ionization in
66
combination with GC–LRMS. Similar response factors were obtained for SCCP congeners with
67
different chlorine contents, opening a possibility of the detection of low chlorinated congeners
68
(Cl3–5). However, the methane/DCM reagent mixture can lead to a rapid deterioration of the ion
69
source due to the formation of black carbon residues that affect the performance of the MS
70
system.18 Reth et al.15 developed a linear relationship between the total response factors and the
71
chlorine contents, which improved the precision of the results and has the most frequently been
72
used. The linearity range is usually limited to the chlorine contents of 50%−70%, and thus it is
73
not suitable for the quantitative analysis of SCCPs with a high proportion of low chlorinated
74
congeners (Cl1−4). Harada et al.19 developed a semi-quantitative method for individual SCCP
75
congeners with Cl5–9, in which the individual SCCP congeners in samples were calculated using
76
a linear regression between the peak areas determined by HRGC–ECNI/HRMS and the
77
concentrations determined by HRGC–electron impact ionization (EI)/TOFMS. In addition, based
78
on the analysis of GC–ECNI/MS, Geiβ et al.11 developed a multiple linear regression procedure
79
for the quantification of total SCCPs with a chlorine content of 49%–67% in water.
80
HRMS or LRMS in atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) or chloride-enhanced
81
APCI mode have been also developed for the analysis of chlorinated paraffins.20, 21 The response
82
factors were less dependent on the chlorination content than in ECNI/MS methods. Nevertheless,
83
the low chlorinated SCCPs (Cl1−4) are still not detected. Another interesting analysis approach of
84
carbon skeleton reaction gas chromatography was achieved by detecting the corresponding n-
85
alkanes generated from the catalytic hydrodechlorination of CPs on a Pd catalyst.22–24 However,
86
the information on the chlorination content is lost.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
4
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 4 of 28
87
Accurate quantification of the individual SCCP congeners, especially the low chlorinated
88
SCCPs, remains challenging, although interlaboratory studies since 2010 showed improving data
89
agreements.7, 25 The environmental fates and toxicities of SCCPs have not yet characterized well
90
due to the limitation in analysis method. Reliable measurement data regarding SCCPs are
91
strongly desired in view of the ongoing global regulatory actions and deliberations by all
92
countries and regulatory bodies.4, 7, 17 In this study, we report a novel approach for the analysis of
93
SCCPs based on deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC−EI/HRMS, through which the
94
concentrations of individual SCCP congeners with different carbon and chlorine numbers can be
95
determined. Reduction of SCCPs with lithium aluminum deuteride (LiAlD4) was conducted in
96
ethylene glycol diethyl ether (EGDE), which generated the corresponding deuterated n-alkanes.
97
Deuterated n-alkanes were then completely separated on a GC capillary column in according
98
with their carbon chain length, rather than the coelution profile of the original SCCPs. The
99
molecular ions ([M]+) of the deuterated n-alkanes, reflecting the chlorine distribution of SCCPs,
100
were thus monitored. This method enabled us to quantify the individual SCCP congeners even
101
with less than 5 chlorine atoms.
102
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
103
Synthesis of the Calibration Standards for Method Development. A series of SCCP
104
calibration standards with fixed carbon chain lengths, C10-CPs, C11-CPs, C12-CPs and C13-CPs,
105
were synthesized by the substitution reaction of individual n-alkanes with sulfuryl chloride
106
(SO2Cl2). The information on the carbon chain lengths and chlorine contents of the synthetic
107
calibration standards are shown in Table S1. Chlorinated 2-methyl nonane (branched C10-CPs)
108
and chlorinated 2-methyl undecane (branched C12-CPs), were also synthesized by the
109
substitution reaction of 2-methyl nonane and 2-methyl undecane with SO2Cl2, respectively.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
5
Page 5 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
110
Under argon atmosphere, about 1 mL of alkane was treated with SO2Cl2 (9 mL) in DCM (30
111
mL). The reaction mixture was irradiated with UV-light (6 W mercury vapor lamp) and refluxed
112
at 70 °C. The reaction was continued for different times in order to obtain SCCP calibration
113
standards with different chlorine contents (Table S1). At the end of reaction, the reaction flask
114
was placed into an ice-bath and bubbled with a gentle stream of argon for 10 min. The solvent
115
and excess SO2Cl2 were removed by distillation at 50–100 oC under atmospheric pressure. The
116
residue was cooled to ambient temperature after ice bath, resolved with DCM (40 mL), and then
117
washed with saturated NH4Cl (40 mL), saturated NaHCO3 (40 mL) and purified water (40 mL).
118
The organic phase was dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and filtered. All the volatiles were removed
119
under reduced pressure at 35 oC, and the products were dried in vacuum. The chlorine content of
120
the prepared SCCP calibration standards were calculated by the weight difference between the
121
substrate alkane and the generated chlorinated alkane (Details in the Supporting Inforamtion).
122
The details on all purchased chemicals and reagents are also shown in the Supporting
123
Information.
124
Procedure for the Deuterodechlorination of SCCPs. Firstly, the saturated solution of
125
LiAlD4 in EGDE was prepared. Prior to use, EGDE was distilled by rectifying column with
126
sodium reflux. Approximate 0.05 g of LiAlD4 was added into 1.0 mL of the distilled EGDE in a
127
reaction vial, and then heated at 110 oC for about 8 h until the upper solution became pellucid.
128
The reaction vial was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 min. The clear supernatant, i.e., the
129
saturated solution of LiAlD4, was used for the deuterodechlorination of SCCPs.
130
Sample collection, extraction and cleanup of environmental samples were described in the
131
Supporting Information. Prior to extraction, 5 µL of branched C10-CPs (1 µg/µL nonane) was
132
spiked into the sample as the extraction internal standard. Alkanes and other organochlorine
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
6
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 6 of 28
133
compounds in environmental samples have been found to interfere with the instrumental analysis
134
and the deuterodechlorination reaction, respectively. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and
135
a successive silica gel and basic alumina columns have been used for the removal of lipids and
136
other organochlorine compounds in samples.26 The SCCP-containing extract was concentrated to
137
about 1 mL, and then transferred to a micro-reaction vial. 5 µL of branched C12-CPs (1 µg/µL
138
nonane) was spiked into the micro-reaction vial as the reaction internal standard, and then
139
concentrated to near dryness by a gentle stream of N2. The deuterodechlorination of SCCPs was
140
conducted in a glove box with the moisture content of < 1 ppm. 100 µL of the saturated solution
141
of LiAlD4 in EGDE was added into the micro-reaction vial containing SCCPs, and then heated at
142
90 oC for 72 h under nitrogen atmosphere. After reaction, the solution was transferred to a screw
143
thread GC vial. The micro-reaction vial was further rinsed by 100 µL of DCM for three times,
144
and then the rinse solution was combined with the reaction solution. The reaction was quenched
145
by adding 100 µL of the deionized water to the solution dropwise, while the deionized water was
146
further absorbed by about 0.3 g of anhydrous Na2SO4. The supernatant liquid was transferred to
147
another GC vial after centrifugation, and concentrated to near dryness by a gentle stream of N2.
148
50 µL of n-hexane containing phenanthrene as the injection internal standard was added, and the
149
vial was mixed by vortexing prior to instrumental analysis.
150
Instrumental Analysis. The generated deuterated alkanes were analyzed using an Autospec
151
Ultima high resolution mass spectrometer (Micromass, UK) interfaced with a Hewlett– Packard
152
(Palo Alto, CA, USA) 6890 Plus gas chromatograph. A capillary DB-5 column (60 m × 0.25 mm
153
i.d. × 0.25 µm film thickness, J&W Scientific, USA) was used. A sample volume of 1 µL was
154
injected in the splitless mode with an injector temperature of 280 °C, which was made by a CTC
155
A200SE autosampler under data system control. The oven temperature program was as follows:
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
7
Page 7 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
156
50 °C, isothermal for 0.5 min, then 20 °C/min to 80 °C, keeping 8 min, then 5 °C/min to 280 °C,
157
and final isothermal for 20 min. The ion source was operated at 260 °C, and the mass
158
spectrometer was tuned to a mass resolution of 5000 under positive EI conditions. The molecular
159
ion clusters, [M]+, of the formed deuterated alkanes, were monitored in SIM mode, and four
160
windows during the scanning were divided to improve the efficiency. The m/z values of the
161
monitored ions for deuterated alkanes with different carbon chain lengths and deuterium atom
162
numbers are shown in Table S2.
163
In order to develop and validate the deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC–EI/HRMS
164
method for SCCP analysis, SCCPs in some samples were also analyzed by the traditional
165
HRGC–ECNI/LRMS method, carbon skeleton reaction GC with flame ionisation detection (FID)
166
method and the deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC–EI/LRMS method. The detailed
167
conditions for instrumental analysis are described in the Supporting Information.
168
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
169
Optimization for the Deuterodechlorination Reaction of SCCPs. In our case, LiAlD4 was
170
selected as the deuterium sources. The corresponding deuterated n-alkanes were formed as the
171
major products (Figure S1). Preliminary experiments were carried out to improve the
172
deuterodechlorination rates of SCCPs, which was calculated as the percentage of SCCPs reacted
173
to the corresponding deuterated n-alkanes (Detailed equations see the Supporting Information).
174
The influences of reaction temperature and reaction time on deuterodechlorination rates of
175
SCCPs were investigated. Two kinds of SCCP mixture stock standard solutions (51% Cl and
176
63 %Cl, respectively, purchased from Dr. Ehrenstorfer GmbH, Augsburg, Germany) were tested,
177
and the generated deuterated n-alkanes were analyzed using HRGC–EI/LRMS method. The
178
deuterodechlorination rates exhibited an increasing tendency with the increase of the reaction
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
8
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 8 of 28
179
time, whereas higher temperature depressed the generation of the corresponding deuterated n-
180
alkanes (Tables S3 and S4). The highest deuterodechlorination rates for the reduction of SCCPs
181
was obtained at 90 oC for 96 h. Under this condition, 56.4% and 47.6% of SCCPs in two tested
182
SCCP mixture standards (51% Cl and 63 % Cl,) have been deuterodechlorinated to the
183
corresponding deuterated n-alkanes, respectively. During the deuterodechlorination reaction of
184
SCCPs with LiAlD4, deuterated n-alkenes were generated (Figure S2). The relative abundance of
185
the deuterated n-alkenes decreased with the decreasing of the reaction temperature. A small
186
quantity
187
deuterodechlorination reaction (Figure S3), which was discussed in details in the Supporting
188
Information.
of
low
chlorinated
deuterated
n-alkanes
was
also
formed
during
the
189
Fractionation and MS Detection. The formed deuterated n-alkanes were eluted from a DB-5
190
column, in which the deuterated n-alkanes were completely separated according to the number
191
of carbon atoms (Figure 1a). The chromatography profiles of the formed deuterated n-alkanes
192
were similar to the n-alkane distribution patterns determined by carbon skeleton reaction with
193
GC/FID (Figure S4).
194
The EI mode was used to ionize the individual deuterated n-alkanes. Figure 2 illustrated the EI
195
mass spectra of the deuterated n-tridecane generated from the deuterodechlorination of the SCCP
196
mixture standard (C10–13, 51% Cl) and synthesized SCCP calibration standard (C13, 65.3% Cl),
197
respectively. The resultant mass spectra were dominated by the fragment ion clusters with low
198
mass-to-charge ratios (m/z), such as [C3H6D]+, [C3H5D2]+, [C4H8D]+, [C4H7D2]+, [C5H9D2]+
199
[C5H8D3]+, [C6H11D2]+and [C6H9D4]+. Meanwhile, the molecular ion clusters, [M]+, of the
200
deuterated n-alkanes with different deuterium atom numbers, reflecting the chlorine distributions
201
of SCCPs, were also detected (enlarged images in Figure 2). Because of the low abundances of
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
9
Page 9 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
202
the molecular ion clusters, HRMS was used to improve the selectivity and minimize matrix
203
interference as well as interferences from deuterated n-alkenes, low-chlorinated deuterated n-
204
alkanes and
205
quantification of individual SCCP congeners with different carbon and chlorine numbers, the
206
SIM mode was adopted to monitor the molecular ion clusters of the formed deuterated n-alkanes.
207
The SIM chromatograms of the deuterated n-alkanes generated from the deuterodechlorination
208
of the SCCP mixture standard (C10–13, 51% Cl) is shown in Figure 1b. The influence of the
209
deuterium atom numbers on the response factors of the deuterated n-alkanes was investigated. As
210
compared with that of n-octane, the relative response factor of the molecular ion [M]+ of n-
211
octane-d18 (Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc., Andover, MA, USA) only increased by 0.16-
212
fold (Figure S5). This result reveals that the deuteration degree does not exhibit an obvious
213
impact on the signal intensities of the individual deuterated n-alkanes generated from SCCPs
214
usually containing 3−10 chlorine atoms. Therefore, the chlorine distribution of SCCPs can be
215
calculated according to the deuteration degree of the formed deuterated n-alkanes with different
216
deuterium atom numbers. The calculated chlorine contents in two tested SCCP mixture standards
217
(51% Cl and 63% Cl) were 50.0% and 60.9%, respectively. The chlorine distribution on the
218
fixed carbon chain is nearly conformed to a Gaussian curve (Figure S6).
13
C isotope (Details in the Supporting Information). To achieve simultaneous
219
Quantitative Analysis of SCCPs in Samples. An internal standard calibration method for
220
SCCP quantification was developed. Branched C10-CPs and branched C12-CPs were used as the
221
extraction and the reaction internal standards, respectively. They have not been detected in
222
commercial chlorinated paraffins, environmental samples or biota samples (see the Supporting
223
Information). Similar behaviors of the extraction internal standard were found in sample
224
extraction and column cleanup procedures with SCCPs. The average recoveries of branched C10-
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
10
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 10 of 28
225
CPs were calculated to be 92.5% (see the Supporting Information). The deuterodechlorination
226
rates of branched C10-CPs and branched C12-CPs were also evaluated, which were calculated to
227
be 50.7% and 55.1%, respectively, under the optimized condition. Their deuterodechlorination
228
products, deuterated 2-methyl nonane and deuterated 2-methyl undecane, can be completely
229
separated from the deuterated n-alkanes on the DB-5 column. The molecular ion clusters of the
230
deuterated branched-chain alkanes exhibited relative lower signal intensities due to the isomeric
231
effects. By comparing the standard mass spectrums from NIST database, the relative signal
232
intensity of 2-methyl nonane was found to be about 20% of the value of n-decane. In this study,
233
the
234
deuterodechlorination rates, and however the relative signal intensity of the generated deuterated
235
2-methyl nonane was only about 15% of the value of the generated deuterated n-decane.
extraction
internal
standard
and
straight-chain
C10-CPs
have
the
similar
236
To quantify the indivdual SCCP congeners, the relative correction factor (RCFi) of individual
237
deuterated n-alkane with fixed carbon chain length (i) generated from the SCCP calibration
238
standard compared to the deuterated 2-methyl nonane generated from the extraction internal
239
standard, was calculated according to eq. 1.
240
RCFi =
Qd-IS TAd-CS, i × Qd-CS, i TAd-IS
(1)
241
where Qd-IS and Qd-CS, i are the theoretical masses of deuterated 2-methyl nonane and deuterated
242
n-alkanes generated from the extraction internal standard and SCCP calibration standard,
243
respectively; TAd-IS and TAd-CS, i are the actually measured total peak areas of deuterated 2-methyl
244
nonane and deuterated n-alkanes generated from the extraction internal standard and SCCP
245
calibration standard, respectively. The total peak area was the sum of the peak areas of individual
246
deuterated alkanes with different deuterium atom numbers monitored in SIM mode. Three
247
replicates were applied for each SCCP calibration standard. The relative standard deviations of
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
11
Page 11 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
248
RCFi values for each SCCP calibration standard with fixed carbon chain length and different
249
chlorine contents were within 30% (Table S5).
250 251
The theoretical masses of deuterated 2-methyl nonane and deuterated n-alkanes, i. e. Qd-IS and Qd-CS, i, can be calculated according to eq. 2 and 3, respectively.
252
Qd-IS = QIS × (1 −
253
Qd-CS, i = QCS, i × (1 −
M Cl − M D × K IS ) M Cl
(2)
M Cl − M D × K CS, i ) M Cl
(3)
254
where QIS
255
standard, respectively; MCl and MD are the molecular weights of Cl atom (average: 35.5) and D
256
atom, respectively; KIS and KCS, i are the chlorine contents (mass percentage) of the extraction
257
internal standard and SCCP calibration standard, respectively.
and
QCS, i are the masses of the extraction internal standard and SCCP calibration
258
Combining eqs. 1−3, the RCFi values of SCCP homologues with fixed carbon chain lengths
259
can be obtained. According to the calculation procedure described above, the obtained RCFi
260
generally reflect the deviation in the deuterodechlorination rates, sample preparation and
261
instrumental response between deuterated n-alkanes and deuterated branched-chain alkanes. As
262
shown in Figure 3a, there are no statistically significant differences in RCFi values among C10-
263
CPs, C11-CPs and C12-CPs; whereas C13-CPs showed higher RCFi values compared with C10-CPs
264
and C12-CPs. Meanwhile, for the different SCCP homologues with fixed carbon chain lengths,
265
the RCFi values did not present a consistent variation with the change of the chlorine content
266
(Figure 3b). As a whole, the RCFi values seemed to be independent on the chlorine contents.
267
Therefore, the RCFi values of individual SCCP homologues with fixed carbon chain lengths and
268
different chlorine contents could be considered as constants.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
12
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 12 of 28
269
In view of the similar deuterodechlorination probability of individual SCCP congeners, the
270
abundances of deuterated n-alkanes with different deuterium atom numbers can reflect the
271
quantities of the individual SCCP congeners. Therefore, the chlorine content of SCCPs with
272
fixed carbon chain length (Ki, %) can be calculated from the deuteration degree of the formed
273
deuterated n-alkanes and their relative abundances according to eq. 4. 1− n
Ki = ∑ j Ri, j ×
274
j × M Cl M formula
(4)
275
where j is the number of deuterium atoms, and n is the maximum number of deuterium atoms.
276
Mformula is the molecular weight of the individual SCCP congener, which can be calculated by the
277
molecular formula. Ri, j is the relative abundance (%) of each deuterated n-alkane with fixed
278
carbon chain length (i) and different number of deuterium atoms (j) compared to the total amount
279
of the individual deuterated n-alkane with fixed carbon chain length (i), which can be calculated
280
according to eq. 5.
281
Ri, j =
Ad −CS, i, j TAd −CS, i
×100%
(5)
282
where Ad-CS, i, j is the peak area of the deuterated n-alkane with fixed carbon chain length and
283
fixed deuterium atom number generated from the SCCP calibration standard. It was found that
284
the calculated chlorine contents in SCCP calibration standards were very close to those values
285
measured by the weight difference, with a linear slope factor of 0.97 (Figure 3c).
286
In view of the fact that individual SCCP homologues with fixed carbon chain length and
287
different chlorine contents had similar RCF values, average RCFi value ( RCFi ) was used for the
288
quantification of individual SCCP homologues in actual samples. According to eq. 1, the
289
following equation can be obtained:
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
13
Page 13 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
RCFi =
290
Qd-IS Qd-sample, i
×
TAd-sample, i TAd-IS
(6)
291
where Qd-sample, i and TAd-sample, i are the actually determined mass and total peak area of the
292
deuterated n-alkanes with fixed carbon chain length (i) generated from SCCPs in the sample,
293
respectively. The total peak area was the sum of the peak areas of individual deuterated n-
294
alkanes with fixed carbon chain length and different deuterium atom numbers monitored in SIM
295
mode.
296
According to eq. 3, Qd-sample, i can be expressed by the following equation:
Qd-sample, i = Qsample, i × (1 −
297
M Cl − M D × Ksample, i ) M Cl
(7)
298
where Qsample, i and Ksample, i are the mass and chlorine content of the individual SCCP homologue
299
with fixed carbon chain length (i) in the sample, respectively. Qsample, i can be expressed by eq. 8
300
after combining eqs. 6 and 7.
301
302 303 304
Qsample, i =
Qd-IS TAd-sample, i M Cl × × TAd-IS M Cl − ( M Cl − M D ) × K sample, i RCF
(8)
According to eq. 8, the total mass of SCCPs in the sample (Qsample) can be calculated by the following equation: 10−13
Qsample = ∑ i
Qd-IS TAd-sample, i M Cl × × TAd-IS M Cl − ( M Cl − M D ) × Ksample,i RCF
(9)
305
Considering the chlorine atoms in SCCPs is one-to-one replaced by deuterium atoms, the mass
306
of the individual SCCP congeners with fixed carbon chain length and fixed number of chlorine
307
atoms (Qsample-i,j) can be calculated based on the relative abundance (Ri, j) of the individual
308
deuterated n-alkanes as follows:
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
14
Environmental Science & Technology
309
Qsample-i. j = Qsample, i × Ri, j =
Qd-IS TAd-sample, i M Cl × × × Ri, j TAd-IS M Cl − ( M Cl − M D ) × K sample, i RCF
Page 14 of 28
(10)
310
where i and j are the carbon chain length and number of chlorine atoms, respectively. Table S6
311
and S7 listed the Ri, j values for each deuterated n-alkane in actual samples. The sum of Ri, j
312
values for individual homologue with fixed carbon chain length (i) was 1.
313
Method Performance. Method performance of the whole analytical procedure was
314
investigated according to EURACHEM and EPA guidelines.27, 28 Method selectivity and linearity,
315
instrumental detection limit (IDL) of n-alkanes and method detection limit (MDL) of SCCPs,
316
have been evaluated in the Supporting Information. There was a good linearity (R2 > 0.99) in the
317
range of 17−212 µg/L for the four kinds of n-alkanes with diferent carbon chain lengths, n-
318
decane, n-undecane, n-dodecane and n-tridecane n-alkane, respectively (Figure S7). The IDL
319
value for n-alkanes (C10−C13) was estimated to be 1.5 pg at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3: 1,
320
respectively. The blank sediment sample was prepared using Soxhlet extraction until no
321
detectable quantities of SCCPs analyzed by HRGC−ECNI/LRMS method. The MDL value for
322
total SCCPs, calculated as 3-fold the standard deviation of SCCPs in blank sediment samples,
323
was 33 ng/g (n = 8). The value was a little higher than that by ECNI/LRMS method (14 ng/g)3,
324
which was undoubtedly sensitive for high chlorinated SCCPs. The average chlorine content of
325
SCCPs in blank sendiment samples was calculated to be 55.0%.
326
Four kinds of SCCP homologue stock standard solutions (C10-CPs, 60.09% Cl; C11-CPs,
327
55.2% Cl; C12-CPs, 65.08% Cl; C13-CPs, 65.18% Cl; 10 ng/µL in cyclohexane) and a SCCP
328
mixture stock standard solution (C10–13; 51% Cl, 100 ng/µL in cyclohexane) were used to test the
329
reliablity of deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC−EI/HRMS method for the analysis of
330
SCCPs. The determined mass and chlorine content of SCCPs were shown in Table S8. The
331
relative errors between the expected and the determined values were within 21% for the
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
15
Page 15 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
332
quantification of total SCCPs, and within 6% for the chlorine content. The relative standard
333
deviations of the determined values were within 10% for the concentration of total SCCPs, and
334
within 1% for the chlorine content.
335
The method repeatability and precision for the analysis of SCCPs in environmental samples
336
were evaluated using the blank sediment sample. Approximately 5 g of the blank sediment
337
sample was spiked with the SCCP homologue stock standard solutions (C10-CPs, 60.09% Cl;
338
C11-CPs, 55.2% Cl; C12-CPs, 65.08% Cl; C13-CPs, 65.18% Cl; 10 ng/µL in cyclohexane) and the
339
internal standards, respectively. Sample pretreatment, deuterodechlorination reaction and
340
quantification of SCCPs were conducted. The relative errors between the expected and the
341
determined values were within 26% for the quantification of total SCCPs, and within 7% for the
342
chlorine content (Table S9). The relative standard deviations of the determined values were
343
within 10% for the concentration of total SCCPs, and within 1% for the chlorine content.
344
The recoveries of the extraction (Rex) and reaction internal standard (Rre) have been used for
345
the evaluation of the sample pretreatment and deuterodechlorination reaction in samples,
346
respectively. They were calculated as described in details in the Supporting Information, taking
347
the EPA 1613 method as a reference.28 The recoveries of the extraction internal standard
348
throughout the sample pretreatment were above 75% (Table S9) while the recoveries of the
349
reaction internal standard were above 79% (Table S8, S9).
350
Analysis of SCCPs in Commercial CP Products and Environmental Samples. The
351
concentrations and chlorine contents of SCCPs and their individual homologue groups in
352
commercial CP products, sediment and biota samples, respectively, were analyzed. The contents
353
of SCCPs in the three commercial CP mixtures, CP-42 (CPs with a chlorine content of 42%),
354
CP-52 and CP-70, were determined to be 3.1%, 40.2% and 1.7%, respectively (Table S10). The
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
16
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 16 of 28
355
corresponding chlorine contents of the SCCPs were determined to be 42.9%, 54.9% and 65.2%,
356
respectively. The contents of SCCPs in CP-42 and CP-70 products were relatively low (< 5%),
357
while high content of SCCPs was found in CP-52. The results were also in agreement with those
358
values determined by HRGC–ECNI/LRMS.12 Significant differences in SCCP homologue
359
profiles have been found among the three commercial CP products (Figure S8). C10-CPs
360
predominated in the congener profiles in CP-42 while the amounts of the four homologues were
361
comparable in CP-52 and CP-70 products. The chlorine profiles of the SCCP homologues with
362
fixed carbon chain length almost exhibited a Gaussian distribution. Similar chlorine contents of
363
the individual SCCP homologues have been found. The most abundant chlorine congeners were
364
Cl2–4 congeners in CP-42, Cl5–6 congeners in CP-52, Cl8–10 congeners in CP-70, respectively.
365
The concentrations of total SCCPs in two sediment samples were determined to be 2.71 µg/g
366
dry weight (dw) and 3.28 µg/g dw, with chlorine contents of 52.9% and 52.4%, respectively
367
(Table S11). The concentrations of the total SCCPs in the loach and frog sample were
368
determined to be 4.92 µg/g dw and 4.49 µg/g dw, respectively, corresponding to the chlorine
369
contents of 47.6% and 52.0%, respectively (Table S11). A near Gaussian distribution was also
370
found in the chlorine profile of the SCCP homologues with fixed carbon chain length in the
371
sediment and biota samples (Figure 4). The longest chain C13-CPs were the predominant
372
congeners of SCCPs in sediment samples, followed by C12-CPs, C11-CPs and C10-CPs. The Cl4–6
373
congeners were the most abundant congeners in the sediment samples. Smaller differences
374
among the concentrations of the four SCCP homologues were indicated in biota samples. The
375
Cl4 congeners showed the highest abundances in the loach sample while more congeners have
376
been detected in the frog sample. It was found that Cl4-8 congeners for C10-CPs and C11-CPs, and
377
Cl3-5 congeners for C12-CPs and C13-CPs predominated in the congener profile.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
17
Page 17 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
378
In addition, we analyzed the sediment and biota samples by the HRGC–ECNI/LRMS method
379
(Table S12). As compared to the HRGC–ECNI/LRMS analysis, the results obtained by
380
deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC−EI/HRMS showed higher concentrations of total
381
SCCPs and lower chlorine content (Table S11, S12). The concentrations and chlorine contents of
382
SCCPs determined by the deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC−EI/HRMS were
383
1.7−13.6 times and 0.82−0.90 times the values determined by HRGC–ECNI/LRMS method,
384
respectively. This result should be partly attributed to the detection of a larger quantity of low
385
chlorinated SCCP congeners (Cl1−4), which are ignored by the HRGC−ECNI/LRMS analysis.29
386
In our study, SCCPs with Cl1−4 accounted for 32.4%−62.4% of the total SCCPs in the tested
387
sediment and biota samples. The large quantitive difference of total SCCPs between carbon
388
skeleton analysis and GC–ECNI/LRMS analysis was also observed by Hussy et al., who found
389
that the concentrations of SCCPs in sediments determined by carbon skleton reaction combined
390
with GC/FID were 0.4−50 times the values determined by GC‒ECNI/LRMS.30
391
In this work, we present a new analytical method for SCCPs, i.e. deuterodechlorination
392
combined with HRGC−EI/HRMS. This analytical approach can achieve accurate quantification
393
of individual SCCP congeners, and the method reliability can be ensured by internal standard
394
calibration. This method overcomes some disadvantages of the previously reported ECNI/MS
395
methods. SCCP congeners with Cl1−4 can be detected, and the calculated concentration of SCCPs
396
does not considerably depend on the distribution profile of SCCP congeners in the selected
397
analytical standards. The present method can simultaneously acquire both carbon and chlorine
398
profiles of SCCPs, which guarantees a promising application in further studies on the
399
toxicological and environmental characteristics of SCCPs.
400
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
18
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 18 of 28
401
Supporting Information. Detail information on chemicals and reagents, sample collection
402
and pretreatment, instrumental analysis, generation of byproducts and their interferences, method
403
performance, calculation of the deuterodechlorination rates and recoveries; tables showing the
404
calibration standards for method development (Table S1), m/z values of the molecular ions [M]+
405
for the deuterated n-alkanes (Table S2), deuterodechlorination rates and calculated chlorine
406
contents of SCCPs (Table S3, S4), calculated RCF and Ri,
407
quantitative results of SCCP congeners in different stock standard solutions, commercial CPs,
408
sediment and biota samples (Tables S8−S11), and the concentrations and chlorine contents of
409
SCCPs in sediment and biota samples analyzed by HRGC−ECNI/LRMS (Table S12); figures
410
showing the reduction of SCCPs with LiAlD4 (Figure S1), mass spectra and HRGC‒EI/LRMS
411
chromatogram for the products from the deuterodechlorination (Figure S2, S3), the SCCP
412
homologue profiles determined by the deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC−EI/HRMS
413
and carbon skeleton reaction with GC/FID (Figure S4), the dependence of the relative response
414
factor on the deuteration degree of n-octane (Figure S5), congener profiles of SCCPs in standard
415
mixtures and commercial CP mixtures (Figure S6, S8), and linear correlation between the n-
416
alkane concentrations and its relative peak areas determined by HRGC−EI/HRMS (Figure S7).
417
This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
418
AUTHOR INFORMATION
419
Corresponding Author
420
* Phone/fax: +86-411-8437-9562; E-mail:
[email protected] 421
Notes
422
The patent (CN104181266 A) is relevant to the deuterodechlorination reaction and quantification
423
method principle of SCCPs and MCCPs.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
j
values (Tables S5−S7), the
19
Page 19 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
424
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
425
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
426
(Grant No. 21307128 and 21337002), the Chinese National Basic Research Program (Grant No.
427
2015CB453100), and the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (Grant
428
No. 201503108).
429
REFERENCES
430
(1) Fiedler, H. Short-chain chlorinated paraffins: production, use and international regulations.
431
In Chlorinated Paraffins. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry; de Boer, J., Ed.; Springer-
432
Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 2010; pp 1−40.
433
(2) Xu, C.; Xu, J.; Zhang, J. Emission inventory prediction of short chain chlorinated parafins
434
(SCCPs) in China. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis, 2014, 50, 369–378 (in
435
Chinese); DOI 10.13209/J.0479-8023.2014.055.
436 437 438 439
(3) ECHA. Support document for identification of alkanes C10–13, chloro as a substance of very high concern. EU: Scientific and Technical Research Reports. 2008. (4) UNEP. UNEP/POPS/POPRC.8/16/Annex IV. Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Geneva. 2012.
440
(5) Korytar, P.; Parera, J.; Leonards, P. E. G.; Santos, F. J.; de Boer, J.; Brinkman, U. A. Th.
441
Characterization of polychlorinated n-alkanes using comprehensive two-dimensional gas
442
chromatography-electron-capture negative ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. J.
443
Chromatogr. A 2005, 1086, 71–82; DOI 10.1016/j.chroma.2005.05.003.
444
(6) Xia, D.; Gao, L.; Zhu, S.; Zheng, M. Separation and screening of short-chain chlorinated
445
paraffins in environmental samples using comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
20
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 20 of 28
446
with micro electron capture detection. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2014, 406, 7561–7570; DOI
447
10.1007/s00216-014-8209-6
448
(7) van Mourik, L. M.; Leonards, P. E. G.; Gaus, C.; de Boer, J. Recent developments in
449
capabilities for analysing chlorinated paraffins in environmental matrices: A review.
450
Chemosphere 2015, 136, 259–272; DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.05.045.
451
(8) Sverko, E.; Tomy, G. T.; Märvin, C. H.; Muir, D.C.G. Improving the quality of
452
environmental measurements on short chain chlorinated paraffins to support global regulatory
453
efforts. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2012, 46, 4697–4698; DOI 10.1021/es301390v.
454
(9) Tomy, G. T.; Stern, G. A.; Muir, D.C.G.; Fisk, A. T.; Cymbalisty, C. D.; Westmore, J. B.
455
Quantifying C10-C13 polychloroalkanes in environmental samples by high-resolution gas
456
chromatography/electron capture negative ion high-resolution mass spectrometry. Anal. Chem.
457
1997, 69, 2762–2771; DOI 10.1021/ac961244y.
458
(10) Zencak, Z.; Reth, M.; Oehme, M. Dichloromethane-enhanced negative ion chemical
459
ionization for the determination of polychlorinated n-alkanes. Anal. Chem. 2003, 75, 2487–2492;
460
DOI 10.1021/ac034090c.
461
(11) Geiβ, S.; Elinax J. W., Scott S. P. Determination of the sum of short chain polychlorinated
462
n-alkanes with a chlorine content of between 49 and 67% in water by GC-ECNI-MS and
463
quantification
464
10.1002/clen.200900192.
by
multiple
linear
regression.
Clean
2010,
38,
57–76;
DOI
465
(12) Gao, Y.; Zhang, H. J.; Su, F.; Tian, Y. Z.; Chen, J. P. Environmental occurrence and
466
distribution of short chain chlorinated paraffins in sediments and soils from the Liaohe River
467
Basin, P.R. China. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2012, 46, 3771–3778; DOI 10.1021/es2041256.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
21
Page 21 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
468
(13) Geiβ, S.; Löffler, D.; Körner, B.; Engelke, M.; Sawal, G.; Bachhausen, P. Determination
469
of the sum of short chain chlorinated n-alkanes with a chlorine content between 50% and 67% in
470
sediment samples by GC-ECNI-MS and quantification by multiple linear regression. Microchem.
471
J. 2015, 119, 30–39; DOI 10.1016/j.microc.2014.09.010.
472
(14) Diefenbacher, P. S.; Bogdal, C.; Gerecke, A. C.; Glüge, J.; Schmid, P.; Scheringer, M.;
473
Hungerbühler, K. Short-chain chlorinated paraffins in Zurich, Switzerland-atmospheric
474
concentrations
475
10.1021/acs.est.5b02153.
and
emissions.
Environ.
Sci.
Technol.
2015,
49,
9778–9786;
DOI
476
(15) Reth, M.; Zencak, Z.; Oehme, M. New quantification procedure for the analysis of
477
chlorinated paraffins using electron capture negative ionization mass spectrometry. J.
478
Chromatogr. A 2005, 1081, 225–231; DOI 10.1016/j.chroma.2005.05.061.
479
(16) Zencak, Z.; Borgen, A.; Reth, M.; Oehme, M. Evaluation of four mass spectrometric
480
methods for the gas chromatographic analysis of polychlorinated n-alkanes. J. Chromatogr. A
481
2005, 1067, 295–301; DOI 10.1016/j.chroma.2004.09.098.
482
(17) Pellizzato, F.; Ricci, M.; Held, A.; Emons, H.; Bohmer, W.; Geiss, S.; Iozza, S.; Mais, S.;
483
Petersen, M.; Lepom, P. Laboratory intercomparison study on the analysis of short-chain
484
chlorinated paraffins in an extract of industrial soil. TrAC-Trend. Anal. Chem. 2009, 28, 1029–
485
1035; DOI 10.1016/j.trac.2009.05.002.
486
(18) Eljarrat, E.; Barceló, D. Quantitative analysis of polychlorinated n-alkanes in
487
environmental
samples.
488
10.1016/j.trac.2006.01.007.
TrAC-Trend.
Anal.
Chem.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
2006,
25,
421–434;
DOI
22
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 22 of 28
489
(19) Harada, K. H.; Takasuga, T.; Hitomi, T.; Wang, P.; Matsukami, H.; Koizumi, A. Dietary
490
exposure to short-chain chlorinated paraffins has increased in Beijing, China. Environ. Sci.
491
Technol. 2011, 45, 7019–7027; DOI 10.1021/es200576d.
492
(20) Zencak, Z.; Oehme, M. Chloride-enhanced atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass
493
spectrometry of polychlorinated n-alkanes. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2004, 18, 2235–
494
2240; DOI 10.1002/rcm.1614.
495
(21) Bogdal, C.; Alsberg, T.; Diefenbacher, P. S.; MacLeod, M.; Berger, U. Fast quantification
496
of chlorinated paraffins in environmental samples by direct injection high-resolution mass
497
spectrometry with pattern deconvolution. Anal. Chem. 2015, 87, 2852–2860; DOI
498
10.1021/ac504444d.
499
(22) Koh, I. O.; Rotard, W.; Thiemann, W. H. P. Analysis of chlorinated paraffins in cutting
500
fluids and sealing materials by carbon skeleton reaction gas chromatography. Chemosphere
501
2002, 47, 219–227; DOI 10.1016/S0045-6535(01)00293-4.
502
(23) Pellizzato, F.; Ricci, M.; Held, A.; Emons, H. Validation of a method for the determination
503
of short-chain chlorinated paraffins in soils and sediments. Accred. Qual. Assur. 2009, 14, 529–
504
540; DOI 10.1007/s00769-009-0559-y.
505
(24) Steinberg, S. M.; Emerson, D. W. On-line dechlorination-hydrogenation of chlorinated
506
paraffin mixtures using GC and GC/MS. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2012, 184, 2119–2131; DOI
507
10.1007/s10661-011-2104-9.
508
(25) Tomy, G. T.; Westmore, J. B.; Stern, G. A.; Muir, D. C. G.; Fisk, A. T. Interlaboratory
509
study on quantitative methods of analysis of C10−C13 polychloro-n-alkanes. Anal. Chem. 1999,
510
71, 446–451; DOI 10.1021/ac9807215.
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
23
Page 23 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
511
(26) Gao, Y.; Zhang, H. J.; Chen, J. P.;Zhang, Q.; Tian, Y. Z.; Qi, P. P.; Yu, Z. J. Optimized
512
cleanup method for the determination of short chain polychlorinated n-alkanes in sediments by
513
high resolution gas chromatography/electron capture negative ion-low resolution mass
514
spectrometry. Anal. Chim. Acta. 2011,703, 187–193; DOI 10.1016/j.aca.2011.07.041.
515 516
(27) EURACHEM Guide. The fitness for purpose of analytical methods: a laboratory guide to method validation and related topics, LGC Teddington. 1998.
517
(28) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water Engineering and Analysis
518
Division, Method 1613 Tetra- through octa-chlorinated dioxins and furans by isotope dilution
519
HRGC/HRMS, Washington, D. C. 1994.
520
(29) Xu, W. G.; Wang, X.; Cai, Z. W. Analytical chemistry of the persistent organic pollutants
521
identified in the Stockholm Convention: A review. Anal. Chim. Acta. 2013,790, 1–13; DOI
522
10.1016/j.aca.2013.04.026.
523
(30) Hussy, I.; Webster, L.; Russell, M.; Moffat, C. Determination of chlorinated paraffins in
524
sediments from the Firth of Clyde by gas chromatography with electron capture negative
525
ionisation mass spectrometry and carbon skeleton analysis by gas chromatography with flame
526
ionisation detection. Chemosphere 2012, 88, 292–299; DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.02.040.
527
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
24
Environmental Science & Technology
C12
a Relative abundance
Page 24 of 28
C11 C13
C10
D13
b
D12 D11 D10
Relative abundance
D9 D8 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1
14
528
16
18
20 22 Time (min)
24
26
529
Figure 1. HRGC–EI/HRMS TIC (a) and SIM (b) chromatograms of deuterated n-decane (C10), deuterated n-
530
undecane (C11), deuterated n-dodecane (C12), and deuterated n-tridecane (C13), respectively, produced from the
531
deuterodechlorination of the SCCP mixture standard (C10–13, 51% Cl). D1 to D13 represents the number of
532
deuterium atom substitutation in the corresponding deuterated n-alkanes.
533
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
25
Page 25 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
534 100 44.0
a
Relative abundance (%)
[C3H6D] 80
58.0
80
[C4H8D]+
40
40
45.0 80
188.1 190.
[C5H9D2]
+
20
187.1
40
0
87.0 [C6H11D2]
+ 180
185
190
195
200
20
80 60 40
[C5H8D3]+ 20 89.1 0 [C6H9D4]+ 180
191.2
185
190
194.2
195
200
20
101. 115.
103.
[M]+
0
[M]+
117.
0 40
535
74.0
192.2 193.2
100
[C4H7D2]+
60
191.1
b
[C3H5D2]+
60
60
73.0
59.0
100
189.1
100
+
60
80
100
120 140 m/z
160
180
200
220
40
60
80
100
120 140 m/z
160
180
200
220
536
Figure 2. LRMS spectrum of the yielding deuterated n-tridecane from the deuterodechlorination of SCCP
537
mixture standard (C10–13, 51% Cl) (a) and synthesized SCCP calibration standard (C13, 65.3% Cl) (b) in full
538
scan mode. [M]+ represents the molecular ion clusters.
539
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
26
Environmental Science & Technology
Page 26 of 28
540 50
C10-CPs C11-CPs
40
C12-CPs C13-CPs
* RCF
RCF
30 20
20
10
10
0
0
10
541
30
11 12 Carbon Chain length
13
40
50 60 Cl content (%)
deuteration degree (%)
b *
40
Cl content calculated from
50
a
70
70
c
y = 0.974x R2 = 0.932
60
50
40 40 50 60 70 Cl content on mass basis (%)
542
Figure 3. Variation of RCF values with carbon chain lengths (a) and chlorine contents (b) of SCCPs as well as
543
the correlation between the chlorine contents calculated from the deuteration degree and those calculated from
544
the weight differences (c). A total of 20 synthetic SCCP calibration standards with fixed carbon chain lengths
545
(C10, C11, C12, and C13) were adopted, each of which consisted of 5 chlorine contents (41.1%−69.6%). Three
546
replicates were applied for each SCCP calibration standard. * represents the significant differences of RCF
547
values at 0.05 level.
548
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
27
Page 27 of 28
Environmental Science & Technology
549 0.2
C10-CPs
C11-CPs
C12-CPs
C13-CPs
Sediment 1 0.1 0.0
Sediment 2
Concentration (µg/g)
0.2 0.1 0.0
Loach
0.4 0.2 0.0 0.3
Frog
0.2 0.1 0.0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91011121314
Chlorine atom number
550 551
Figure 4. Congener profiles of SCCPs in sediment and biota samples determined by the method of
552
deuterodechlorination combined with HRGC–EI/HRMS.
553
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
28