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Arsenic speciation in whelks, Buccinum undatum
Author(s) -
Lai Vivian W.M.,
Beach Anda S.,
Cullen William R.,
Ray Sankar,
Reimer Kenneth J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
applied organometallic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1099-0739
pISSN - 0268-2605
DOI - 10.1002/aoc.330
Subject(s) - arsenobetaine , chemistry , arsenic , genetic algorithm , environmental chemistry , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , dry weight , inorganic arsenic , chromatography , mass spectrometry , ecology , biology , botany , organic chemistry
The arsenic species present in the foot muscle of whelks, Buccinum undatum , collected from Newfoundland, Canada, were characterized by using high‐performance liquid chromatography–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. All samples contain high amounts of arsenic, mostly over 100 µg g −1 (as arsenic, dry weight basis), and one sample contained up to 1360 µg g −1 . These values are considerably higher than those reported in other gastropods. Speciation studies of representative samples revealed arsenobetaine as the major water‐soluble arsenic compound, together with trace amounts of an arsenosugar. No inorganic arsenic species were detected in the sample extracts, indicating that consumption of the whelks poses little human risk. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.