Polyethylene and poly (butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate)-based biodegradable microplastics modulate the bioavailability and speciation of Cd and As in soil: Insights into transformation mechanisms.

Microplastics (MPs) that enter the soil can alter the physicochemical and biochemical properties of soil and affect speciation of heavy metals (HMs), thereby perturbing the bioavailability of HMs. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not understood. Therefore, we investigated the effects of MPs from poly (butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate)-based biodegradable mulch (BM) and polyethylene mulch (PM) in Cd- or As-contaminated soil on soil properties and speciation of HMs. MPs were characterised using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The addition of MPs reduced the bioavailability of HMs in soil and promoted the transformation of HMs into inert fractions. The mechanisms underlying the reduction of the bioavailability of HMs in soils could be as follows: (1) the entry of MPs into the soil changed its properties, which reduced the bioavailability of HMs; (2) FTIR and XPS analyses revealed that the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups and benzene ring present on the surface of aged MPs stabilized complexes (As(V)-O) with As(V) may have directly reduced the bioavailability of As(V) in soil; (3) aged BM exposed more amounts and types of reactive functional groups and was more effective in stabilising soil HMs than PM. Overall, this study provides new insights regarding the complexation mechanisms of soil HMs by MPs from different plastic mulch sources.

[Rapid analysis of 28 primary aromatic amines in aqueous food simulants by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

A novel method for rapid analysis of the migration amounts of 28 primary aromatic amines (PAAs) in aqueous food simulants (10% ethanol, 30 g/L acetic acid and 20% ethanol aqueous solution) was developed using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). After the migration test, the soaking solution was cooled down from 100 degrees C, vortexed, filtered through a hydrophilic polytetrafluoroethylene filter with a disposable syringe, and then the filtrate was analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS. A Zorbax SB-Phenyl column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) was selected for chromatography. The mobile phase consisted of water and 0.1% formic acid-25% acetonitrile-methanol solution with gradient elution. The 28 PAAs in aqueous food simulants were detected by tandem mass spectrometer operated in positive electrospray ionization (ESI+) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The limits of quantification for the 28 PAAs were between 0.002 microg/L and 10 microg/L. The linearity of the method was good with correlation coefficients (r2) greater than 0.995 over the concentration range from 5 microg/L or 10 microg/L to 100 microg/L. The average recoveries of the 28 PAAs were between 76.6% and 114% with the relative standard deviations between 1.53% and 8.97% at the levels of 10, 20, and 40 microg/L. The method shows rapid pretreatment, the lower limits of quantification, good recoveries and accuracies, and meets the requirement of European Union (EU) No 10/2011 regulation for the specific migration of PAAs. The method has been applied to analyze the 28 PAAs in different aqueous food simulants from the migration test of 30 batches of food contact material samples exported to EU.