Isomer-specific degradation and endocrine disrupting activity of nonylphenols.

Degradation of technical nonylphenol by Sphingobium xenophagum Bayram led to a significant shift in the isomers composition of the mixture. By means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we could observe a strong correlation between transformation of individual isomers and their alpha-substitution pattern, as expressed by their assignment to one of six mass spectrometric groups. As a rule, isomers with less bulkiness at the alpha-carbon and those with an optimally sized main alkyl chain (4-6 carbon atoms) were degraded more efficiently. By mass spectrometric analysis, we identified the two most recalcitrant main isomers of the technical mixture (Group 4) as 4-(1,2-dimethyl-1-propylbutyl)phenols (NP193a and NP193b), which are diastereomers with a bulky alpha-CH3, alpha-CH(CH3)C2H5 substitution. Our experiments with strain Bayram show that the selective enrichment of isomers with bulky alpha-substitutions observed in nonylphenol fingerprints of natural systems can be caused by microbial ipso-hydroxylation. Based on the yeast estrogen assay (YES), we established an estrogenicity ranking with a variety of single isomers and compared it to rankings obtained with different reporter cell systems. Structure-activity relationships derived from these data suggest that Group 4 isomers have a high estrogenic potency. This indicates a substantial risk that enrichment of highly estrogenic isomers during microbial degradation by ipso-substitution will increase the specific estrogenicity of aging material.

N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) removal by reverse osmosis and UV treatment and analysis via LC-MS/MS.

N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a probable human carcinogen found in ng/l concentrations in chlorinated and chloraminated water. A method was developed for the determination of ng/l levels of NDMA using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) preceded by sample concentration via solid-phase extraction with activated charcoal. Recoveries were greater than 90% and allowed a method reporting limit as low as 2ng/l. Using this method, the removal of NDMA was determined for the Interim Water Purification Facility (IWPF), an advanced wastewater treatment facility operated by the Orange County Water District (OCWD) in Southern California. The facility treats effluent from an activated sludge treatment plant with microfiltration (MF), reverse osmosis (RO), and an ultraviolet-hydrogen peroxide advanced oxidation process (UV-AOP). Six nitrosamines were surveyed: NDMA, N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine (NDPA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPip), and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPyr). Only NDMA was detected and at all treatment steps in the IWPF, with influent concentrations ranging from 20 to 59 ng/l. Removals for RO and UV ranged from 24% to 56% and 43% to 66%, respectively. Overall, 69+/-7% of the original NDMA concentration was removed from the product water across the advanced treatment process and, in combination with blending, the final concentration did not exceed the California drinking water notification level of 10 ng/l. NDMA removal data are consistent with findings reviewed for other advanced treatment facilities and laboratory studies.

A novel metabolic pathway for degradation of 4-nonylphenol environmental contaminants by Sphingomonas xenophaga Bayram: ipso-hydroxylation and intramolecular rearrangement.

Several nonylphenol isomers with alpha-quaternary carbon atoms serve as growth substrates for Sphingomonas xenophaga Bayram, whereas isomers containing hydrogen atoms at the alpha-carbon do not. Three metabolites of 4-(1-methyloctyl)-phenol were isolated in mg quantities from cultures of strain Bayram supplemented with the growth substrate isomer 4-(1-ethyl-1,4-dimethyl-pentyl)-phenol. They were unequivocally identified as 4-hydroxy-4-(1-methyl-octyl)-cyclohexa-2,5-dienone, 4-hydroxy-4-(1-methyl-octyl)-cyclohex-2-enone, and 2-(1-methyl-octyl)-benzene-1,4-diol by high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Furthermore, two metabolites originating from 4-n-nonylphenol were identified as 4-hydroxy-4-nonyl-cyclohexa-2,5-dienone and 4-hydroxy-4-nonyl-cyclohex-2-enone by high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. We conclude that nonylphenols were initially hydroxylated at the ipso-position forming 4-alkyl-4-hydroxy-cyclohexa-2,5-dienones. Dienones originating from growth substrate nonylphenol isomers underwent a rearrangement that involved a 1,2-C,O shift of the alkyl moiety as a cation to the oxygen atom of the geminal hydroxy group yielding 4-alkoxyphenols, from which the alkyl moieties can be easily detached as alcohols by known mechanisms. Dienones originating from nongrowth substrates did not undergo such a rearrangement because the missing alkyl substituents at the alpha-carbon atom prevented stabilization of the putative alpha-carbocation. Instead they accumulated and subsequently underwent side reactions, such as 1,2-C,C shifts and dihydrogenations. The ipso-hydroxylation and the proposed 1,2-C,O shift constitute key steps in a novel pathway that enables bacteria to detach alpha-branched alkyl moieties of alkylphenols for utilization of the aromatic part as a carbon and energy source.