PAH biomarkers in common eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) from Danish waters.

Eelpouts (Zoarces viviparus) sampled at surveillance stations during the fall of 2007 and spring 2008 in different Danish coastal areas, were studied for biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and effects. Two analytical techniques, synchronous fluorescence spectrometry (SFS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC/F), were applied for detecting PAH metabolites in bile and urine. CYP1A activity, in this study regarded as potential biomarker of effect, was measured as 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in liver of eelpouts from different stations. Biliary PAH metabolite measurements were used for monitoring the environmental PAH load at the surveillance stations. There was found significant difference in biliary PAH metabolite content between sexes with male fish containing higher concentrations of PAH metabolites than females. The urinary PAH metabolite content did not show the same spatial trends as biliary PAH metabolites. However, fish from Aarhus Bight and Vejle Fjord had significantly higher levels of PAH metabolites in both urine and bile compared to the reference station Agersø. Normalisation methods applied for bile and urine matrices did not have any effect or only slightly reduced the coefficients of variation in data sets. The CYP1A activity in eelpout liver did not show the same spatial distribution trends between sampling sites as did biliary or urinary PAH metabolite contents. Male eelpouts showed significantly higher CYP1A activity than females in fall sampling period but there were no differences found in the spring period. General comparison between both seasons showed that eelpouts sampled in the fall had significantly higher CYP1A activity than fish sampled during spring season. Overall, the results of this study describe selected biomarker responses in eelpouts to environmental PAH load at the different areas along Danish coasts.

1-Hydroxypyrene as a biomarker of PAH exposure in the marine polychaete Nereis diversicolor.

The possibility of using the pyrene metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene as a biomarker of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure was investigated by exposure of the marine polychaete Nereis diversicolor to several PAHs in the laboratory. Animals were exposed to pyrene alone and to five different PAHs - phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[k]flouranthene. After five days of exposure the concentrations of parent PAHs and 1-hydroxypyrene were identified using three different analytical methods, high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC/F), synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS). The SFS measurements of 1-hydroxypyrene were validated by the more sensitive method HPLC/F. The positive correlation between total PAHs and 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations in the polychaete tissues observed in experiments, suggests the feasibility of 1-hydroxypyrene as a suitable biomarker for total PAH exposure assessment. Furthermore, the possibility of employment of the simple and rapid SFS method instead of HPLC/F for biomarker analysis has been confirmed by the positive and significant correlation between results achieved by these two analytical methods.