Hh. Richnow et al., THE USE OF C-13-LABELED POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THEIR TRANSFORMATION IN SOIL, Chemosphere, 36(10), 1998, pp. 2211-2224
The formation of non-extractable residues during biodegradation and hu
mification processes in soils and sediments represents a major sink fo
r organic contaminants. The mode of incorporation of polycyclic aromat
ic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their metabolites into macromolecular organi
c matter during microbial degradation was studied applying C-13-labell
ed compounds. Mineralisation rates were determined by measuring the (C
O2)-C-13 production. An incorporation of C-13-PAH-fragments into humic
material could be traced by isotopic analysis of the bulk organic mat
ter. Furthermore, selective chemical degradation reactions were perfor
med to analyse the precise chemical structure of covalently bound C-13
-labelled PAH fragments in soil humic substances. Structural assignmen
ts by GC-MS combined with isotope measurements on the bulk organic car
bon and at the molecular level (Isotope Ratio Monitoring-GC-MS) provid
ed useful information on the fate of xenobiotics within the soil. (C)
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