Development of an analytical method to determine precursors/metabolites of naphthalene and phenanthrene in tropical soils and plants

摘要

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) patterns in tropical soils are dominated by naphthalene (NAPH), phenanthrene (PHEN) and perylene (PERY) in contrast to temperate soils (Wilcke et al. 2000). It is hypothesized that this is related to biological production/accumulation possibly associated with the activity of insects such as termites (Wilcke et al. 2000., Chen et al. 1998). To understand the potential biosynthetic pathway for their production, methods are needed to identify and quantify their precursors. Possible precursors include alkylated derivatives and reduced/oxidized metabolites of these compounds. The objectives of our study were (i) to screen tropical soils, termite nest, and plant samples for derivatives/metabolites of NAPH and PHEN which are possible precursors in biosynthetic pathways, (ii) develop a method to simultaneously determine parent PAHs and selected derivatives/metabolites of NAPH and PHEN in soils, termite nests, and plants and (iii) apply the method to determine parent-PAHs and derivatives/ metabolites (possible precursors) of NAPH and PHEN in soils, termite nests, and plants.