Investigations on the biodegradation of alkylpolyglucosides by means of liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry.

The biodegradation of alkylpolyglucosides (APGs) was studied under the conditions of the OECD Screening Test with activated sludge as an inoculum. An influence of alkyl and sugar chain length on the biodegradation rate and a central scission pathway of the biodegradation were investigated. The liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry technique was used for alkylpolyglucoside analysis and for identification and semiquantitative determination of metabolites. It was found that APGs with a longer alkyl chain were biodegraded faster than those with a shorter one. However, a longer sugar chain caused slower biodegradation of APGs. The central scission pathway of biodegradation was also confirmed.