Register      Login
Environmental Chemistry Environmental Chemistry Society
Environmental problems - Chemical approaches
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > EN > EN09150
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 7(3)

Quantitative determination of fullerene (C60) in soils by high performance liquid chromatography and accelerated solvent extraction technique

Ali Shareef A C , Guihua Li B and Rai S. Kookana A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Future Manufacturing Flagship, CSIRO Land and Water, Private Mail Bag 2, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.

B Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.

C Corresponding author. Email: ali.shareef@csiro.au

Environmental Chemistry 7(3) 292-297 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN09150
Submitted: 26 November 2009  Accepted: 20 April 2010   Published: 22 June 2010

Environmental context. Due to the increasing adoption of nanotechnology, synthetic nanoparticles such as fullerenes (nC60), are likely to emerge as contaminants in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Currently, our understanding of the fate and effects of C60 in the terrestrial environment is poor and is primarily hampered by the lack of reliable quantitative analytical methods. In this paper, we describe a method for effective extraction and sensitive detection of C60 residues in soils which will facilitate environmental fate studies on nC60.

Abstract. Fullerenes (e.g. C60) are emerging as environmental contaminants due to their wide range of applications, such as in optics, electronics, cosmetics and biomedicine. Residue analysis is a crucial step in understanding the fate and effects of C60 in the terrestrial environments. However, there is a lack of reliable quantitative analytical methods for extraction and analysis of C60 in soils or sediments. We developed a method for determination of C60 in soils using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) followed by HPLC-UV detection. Separation of C60 from soil matrix interferences was achieved by gradient elution using methanol–toluene mobile phase. Mean recoveries obtained from extraction efficiency tests using six contrasting soils spiked (wet and dry tests with freeze drying of wet and aged soils before ASE) at varying concentrations of C60 ranged from 84 to 107%. The current method provides adequate sensitivity (limit of quantitation = 20 μg kg–1), and can be used for quantitative determination of C60 in soils and sediments (especially for environmental fate studies) without needing expensive HPLC-mass spectrometry.

Additional keywords: carbon nanoparticles, environmental fate, fullerenes, nanotechnology, terrestrial ecosystems.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Australian Government Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA), China Scholarship Council (CSC) and the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (973 Program, 2007CB109302) for funding support for this project. The authors also thank Danni Oliver and Mohsen Forouzangohar (CSIRO Land and Water) for conducting statistical analyses and sample analyses respectively.


References


[1]   A. Nel , T. Xia , L. Mädler , N. Li , Toxic potential of materials at the nanolevel. Science 2006 , 311,  622.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[2]   S. P. Kelty , C.-C. Chen , C. M. Lieber , Superconductivity at 30 K in caesium-doped C60. Nature 1991 , 352,  223.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[3]   P. Innocenzi , G. Brusatin , Fullerene-based organic-inorganic nanocomposites and their applications. Chem. Mater. 2001 , 13,  3126.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[4]   Z. Chen , P. Westerhoff , P. Herckes , Quantification of C60 fullerene concentrations in water. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2008 , 27,  1852.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[5]   K. Unfried , C. Albrecht , L. Klotz , A. V. Mikecz , S. Grether-Beck , R. P. F. Schins , Cellular responses to nanoparticles: target structures and mechanisms. Nanotoxicology 2007 , 1,  52.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[6]   J. M. Treubig , P. R. Brown , Analysis of C60 and C70 fullerenes using high-performance liquid chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. J. Chromatogr. A 2002 , 960,  135.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[7]   C. W. Isaacson , C. Y. Usenko , R. L. Tanguay , J. A. Field , Quantification of fullerenes by LC/ESI-MS and its application to in vivo toxicity assays. Anal. Chem. 2007 , 79,  9091.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[8]   C. W. Isaacson , M. Kleber , J. A. Field , Quantitative analysis of fullerene nanomaterials in environmental systems: a critical review. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009 , 43,  6463.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[9]   P. R. Buseck , Geological fullerenes: review and analysis. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2002 , 203,  781.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[10]   D. Bouchard , X. Ma , Extraction and high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of C60, C70, and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester in synthetic and natural waters. J. Chromatogr. A 2008 , 1203,  153.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[11]   J. D. Fortner , D. Y. Lyon , C. M. Sayes , A. M. Boyd , J. C. Falkner , E. M. Hotze , L. B. Alemany , Y. J. Tao , W. Guo , K. D. Ausman , V. L. Colvin , J. B. Hughes , C60 in water: nanocrystal formation and microbial response. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005 , 39,  4307.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[12]   X. L. Hu , J. F. Liu , P. Mayer , G. B. Jiang , Impacts of some environmentally relevant parameters on the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to aqueous suspensions of fullerene. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2008 , 27,  1868.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[13]   K. L. Chen , M. Elimelech , Aggregation and deposition kinetics of fullerene (C60) nanoparticles. Langmuir 2006 , 22,  10994.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[14]   S. Pérez , M. L. Farré , D. Barceló , Analysis, behavior and ecotoxicity of carbon-based nanomaterials in the aquatic environment. Trends Analyt. Chem. 2009 , 28,  820.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[15]   D. Heymann , L. P. F. Chibante , R. E. Smalley , Determination of C60 and C70 fullerenes in geologic materials by high-performance liquid chromatography. J. Chromatogr. A 1995 , 689,  157.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[16]   D. Heymann , Search for extracted fullerenes in the Allende meteorite. Meteoritics 1995 , 30,  436.
        |  CAS |  open url image1

[17]   J. Jehlicka , O. Frank , V. Hamplova , Z. Pokorna , L. Juha , Z. Bohacek , Z. Weishauptova , Low extraction recovery of fullerene from carbonaceous geological materials spiked with C60. Carbon 2005 , 43,  1909.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[18]   M. M. Schantz , Pressurized liquid extraction in environmental analysis. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2006 , 386,  1043.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[19]   D. Heymann , A. Korochantsev , M. A. Nazarov , J. Smit , Search for fullerenes C60 and C70 in Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary sediments from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Austria, and Denmark. Cretac. Res. 1996 , 17,  367.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |  open url image1

[20]   M. Kele , R. N. Compton , G. Guiochon , Optimization of the high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of fullerenes using 1-methylnaphthalene as the mobile phase on a tetraphenylporphyrin-silica stationary phase. J. Chromatogr. A 1997 , 786,  31.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[21]   Y. Wu , Y. Sun , S. Gu , Q. Wang , X. Zhou , Y. Xiong , Z. Jin , Analysis of C60 and C70 fullerenes by high-performance liquid chromatography. J. Chromatogr. A 1993 , 648,  491.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[22]   R. S. Ruoff , D. S. Tse , R. Malhotra , D. C. Lorents , Solubility of fullerene (C60) in a variety of solvents. J. Phys. Chem. 1993 , 97,  3379.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[23]   R. S. Ruoff , R. Malhotra , D. L. Huestis , D. S. Tse , D. C. Lorents , Anomalous solubility behaviour of C60. Nature 1993 , 362,  140.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |  open url image1

[24]   N. J. Waller , R. S. Kookana , Effect of triclosan on microbial activity in Australian soils. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2009 , 28,  65.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1

[25]   G.-G. Ying , X. Y. Yu , R. S. Kookana , Biological degradation of triclocarban and triclosan in a soil under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and comparison with environmental fate modelling. Environ. Pollut. 2007 , 150,  300.
        | Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |  open url image1