Magnetic Solid-Phase Extraction of Phthalate Esters from Environmental Water Samples using Fibrous Phenyl-functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2@KCC-1

A new kind of phenyl-functionalized magnetic fibrous mesoporous silica(Fe3 O4@Si O2@KCC-1-phenyl) was prepared by copolymerization as an efficient adsorbent for the magnetic extraction of phthalate esters from environmental water samples. The obtained Fe3 O4@Si O2@KCC-1-phenyl showed monodisperse fibrous spherical morphology, fairly strong magnetic response(29 emu/g), and an abundant π-electron system, which allowed rapid isolation of the Fe3 O4@Si O2@KCC-1-phenyl from solutions upon applying an appropriate magnetic field. Several variables that affect the extraction efficiency of the analytes,including the type of the elution solvent, amount of adsorbent, extraction time and reusability, were investigated and optimized. Under optimum conditions, the Fe3 O4@Si O2@KCC-1-phenyl was used for the extraction of four phthalate esters from environmental water samples followed by high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis. Validation experiments indicated that the developed method presented good linearity(0.1-20 ng/m L), low limit of detection(7.5-29 μg/L, S/N =3). The proposed method was applied to the determination of phthalate esters in different real water samples, with relative recoveries of 93%-103.4%and relative standard deviation of 0.8%-8.3%.

Microwave Extraction Followed by Solid-phase Extraction for the Determination of Phthalate Esters in Fish Samples by Gas Chromatography

A new analytical procedure based on solid-phase extraction method coupled to GC-FID has been developed and validated for the determination of five phthalate esters （PAEs） （dimethyl-（DMP）, diethyl-（DEP）, di-n-butyl-（DBP）, di-2-ethylhexyl- （DEHP）, di-n-octyl-（DOP）） in fish samples. There was a good linear relationship in the range of 0.05-10μg with the detection limits of 0.09-0.16ng .The recoveries obtained for PAEs ranged from 88.6% to 96.4%with RSD of 4.2%-10.2%.The applicability of the developed method was demonstrated for real fish samples.

Biodegradation of Phthalate Esters by a Newly Isolated Acinetobacter sp. Strain LMB-5 and Characteristics of Its Esterase

Phthalate esters （PAEs） are extensively applied in industry, and they migrate to environment during the process of production, employ, and treatment and axe difficult to be degraded in nature. However, some microorganisms could use them as the carbon source to growth. In this study, an Acinetobacter sp. strain LMB-5, capable of utilizing PAEs, was isolated from a vegetable greenhouse soil. The degradation capability of strain LMB-5 was also investigated by incubation in mineral salt medium containing different PAEs, dimethyl phthalate （DMP）, diethyl phthalate （DEP）, di-n-butyl phthalate （DBP）, and di-（2-ethylhexyl） phthalate （DEHP）. The strain could grow well with DMP, DEP, DBP, and DEHP. When the concentration of DBP increased from 100 to 400 mg L-1, the half-life extended from 9.5 to 15.5 h. In the concentration range of DBP, the degradation ability of strain LMB-5 could be described by first-order kinetics. During the biodegradation of DBP, three intermediates, 1,2-benzenedicaxboxylic acid,butyl methyl ester, DMP, and phthalic acid （PA） were detected, and the proposed pathway of DBP was identified. By analysis of bioinformatics, one esterase was cloned from the genome of LMB-5 and expressed in Escherichia coll. It displayed an ability to break the ester bonds of DBP. The enzyme exhibited maximal activity at pH 7.0 and 40 ℃ with DBP as the substrate. It was activated by Cu2＋ and Fe3＋ and had a high activity in the presence of low concentrations of methanol or dimethylsulfoxide （each 10%, volume：volume）. The Acinetobacter sp. strain LMB-5 may make a contribution to the remediation of soils polluted by PAEs in the future.

Contamination of Phthalate Esters in Vegetable Agriculture and Human Cumulative Risk Assessment

Phthalate esters （PAEs）, which can disturb human endocrine system, have been widely detected in vegetable greenhouse agriculture in China. To investigate the effects of environmental factors on PAEs in soils, pollution sources were identified, and the cumulative risks of PAEs to humans through vegetables in the diet were evaluated in this study. Ninety-eight vegetable samples were collected from 10 markets along with 128 vegetable and 111 soil samples from agricultural greenhouses and open field. All soil and vegetable samples were contaminated with PAEs, and the total concentrations of the 5 PAEs, including dimethyl phthalate （DMP）, diethyl phthalate （DEP）, di-iso-butyl phthalate （DiBP）, di-n-butyl phthalate （DnBP）, and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate （DEHP）, were in the ranges of 0.26-2.53 mg kg-1 for soils and 0.95-8.09 mg kg-1 for vegetables. Three components extracted from principle component analysis could explain 51.2%, 19.8%, and 15.3% of the total variance of the 5 PAEs in soils, which may represent three major sources of PAEs, i.e., wastewater irrigation, application of fertilizers and pesticides, and plastic film. Long-term greenhouse cultivation could accumulate DEHP in soils, and a higher soil FeOx content reduced the DnBP concentration. Based on a survey of vegetables in the diet, the hazard index of PAEs was 〈 0.15 for individuals in different cities. The exposure of PAEs through vegetable intake was higher than the total exposure from other food stuffS, inhalation, and dermal absorption. More attention should be g!ven to controlling PAEs in greenhouse vegetables.