Methods to Assess Bioavailability of Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants: Principles, Operations, and Limitations

Overview

Journal Environ Pollut

Specialty Environmental Health

Date 2012 Oct 16

PMID 23064200

Citations 24

Authors

Xinyi Cui

Philipp Mayer

Jay Gan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Many important environmental contaminants are hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs), which include PCBs, PAHs, PBDEs, DDT and other chlorinated insecticides, among others. Owing to their strong hydrophobicity, HOCs have their final destination in soil or sediment, where their ecotoxicological effects are closely regulated by sorption and thus bioavailability. The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in research efforts in developing and applying partitioning based methods and biomimetic extractions for measuring HOC bioavailability. However, the many variations of both analytical methods and associated measurement endpoints are often a source of confusion for users. In this review, we distinguish the most commonly used analytical approaches based on their measurement objectives, and illustrate their practical operational steps, strengths and limitations using simple flowcharts. This review may serve as guidance for new users on the selection and use of established methods, and a reference for experienced investigators to identify potential topics for further research.

Citing Articles

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Main Factors Determining the Scale-Up Effectiveness of Mycoremediation for the Decontamination of Aliphatic Hydrocarbons in Soil.

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