BROAD-SPECTRUM ANALYSIS OF A CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT - EXEMPLIFICATION OF A PROTOCOL

Chromatographic procedures have been outlined that enable isolation an d analysis of structurally diverse groups of compounds from sediments. These methods have been exemplified using a contemporary sediment sam ple from a contaminated site in the Gulf of Bothnia that was examined for (a) selected di- and tri-terpenoids, beta-sitosterol and aromatic hydrocarbons of biogenic origin and (b) chlorinated resin acids and ch lorophenolic compounds. These were quantified together with the fully aromatic retene. A tetracyclic aromatic compound C21H22 was isolated a nd its structure deduced on the basis of its mass spectrum, high resol ution MS and H-1 NMR and proton-decoupled C-13 spectra. It was identif ied as a des-A triterpenoid derived from lupane, or less likely as an aromatized steroid. Its concentration in segments of the sediment core was comparable to that of both lupeol and sitosterol.