Document Detail


The toxicity of individual naphthenic acids to Vibrio fisheri.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21942822     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Numerous studies have suggested that the toxicity of organic compounds containing at least one carboxylic acid group and broadly classified as 'naphthenic acids', is of environmental concern. For example, the acute toxicity of the more than 1 billion m3 of oil sands process-affected water and the hormonal activity of some offshore produced waters has been attributed to the acids. However, experimental evidence for the toxicity of the individual acids causing these effects has not been very forthcoming. Instead, most data have been gathered from assays of incompletely characterised extracts of the water, which may contain other toxic constituents. Clearly, the individual toxicants need to be identified and assayed. Since numerous petroleum-derived naphthenic acids and some in oil sands process water, have recently been identified, we were able to measure the toxicity of some individual acids to the bioluminescent bacterium, Vibrio fisheri. Thirty five pure individual acids were either synthesised or purchased for this purpose. We also used the US EPA ECOSAR computer model to predict the toxicity of each acid to the water flea, Daphnia magna. Both are well-accepted toxicological screening endpoints. The results show how toxic some of the naphthenic acids really are (e.g. V. fisheri Effective Concentrations for 50% response (EC50) 0.004 to 0.7 mM) and reveal the influence of hydrophobicity and aqueous solubility on the toxicities. Comparison with measured toxicities of other known, but more minor, constituents of oil sands process water, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkylphenols, helps place these toxicities into a wider context. Given the reported toxicological effects of naphthenic acids to other organisms (e.g. fish, plants), the toxicities of the acids to further endpoints should now be determined.
Authors:
Steven John Rowland; David Jones; Alan Scarlett; Charles E West
Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-9-26
Journal Detail:
Title:  Environmental science & technology     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1520-5851     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-9-27     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0213155     Medline TA:  Environ Sci Technol     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Job stress and family social behavior: The moderating role of neuroticism.
Next Document:  Revisiting peptide amphiphilicity for membrane pore formation.