Salmonid smolt caudal fin and liver transcriptome responses to low sulfur marine diesel and high sulfur fuel oil water accommodated fractions for assessing oil spill effects in marine environments.

The environmental impact of oil spills is a critical concern, particularly pertaining to low sulfur marine diesel (LSMD) and high sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) that are commonly involved in coastal spills. Although transcriptomic biomonitoring of sentinel animals can be a powerful tool for assessing biological effects, conventional methods utilize lethal sampling to examine the liver. As a non-lethal alternative, we have previously shown salmonid caudal fin cyp1a1 is significantly responsive to LSMD-derived toxicants.

Method development for forensic oil identification by direct analysis in real time time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

The current well-established chromatography and mass spectrometry based oil spill identification procedures, such as those outlined by the European Committee for Standardization, are highly reliable as methods, highly defensible in the court of law, and widely applicable to the majority of oil spill situations. Nevertheless, the methodology is time consuming and labour intensive, which may not be ideal when dealing with an emergency oil spill situation. In this study, direct analysis in real time time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DART/TOFMS) was used to successfully develop an efficient oil identification method.

Enhancement of oil forensic methodology through the addition of polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycle biomarkers for diagnostic ratios.

Current oil spill forensic identification of source oils relies upon hydrocarbon biomarkers resistant to weathering. This international technique was developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), under EN 15522-2 Oil Spill Identification guidelines. The number of biomarkers have expanded at pace with technological advances, while distinguishing new biomarkers becomes more challenging due to interference of isobaric compounds, matrix effects, and high cost of weathering experiments.

Dynamic cyp1a1 transcript responses in the caudal fin of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) smolts to low sulfur marine diesel water accommodated fraction exposures and depuration.

Oil spills that occur in high traffic coastal environments can have profound consequences for the health of marine ecosystems and the commercial and social interests that are dependent upon these habitats. Given that the global reliance on marine fuels is not abating, it is imperative to develop sensitive and robust tools to monitor oil contamination and remediation in a timely manner. Such tools are increasingly important for ascertaining the immediate and long-term effects of oil contamination on species of interest and local habitats as water-soluble components of oils, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), can persist post-remediation.

Advancement in oil forensics through the addition of polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles as biomarkers in diagnostic ratios.

In current oil spill forensics, diagnostic ratios of hydrocarbon biomarker responses are commonly used to compare oil spill samples to source materials in order to determine the identity of the oil. This well recognized procedure was developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) with corresponding published EN 15522-2 Oil Spill Identification guidelines. However, it is further recognized that weathering can have a negative effect on some of the biomarkers used in the analysis, leading to decreased confidence in the result.

A rapid gas chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur heterocycles in spilled crude oils.

Spilled crude oil samples contain various toxic compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as sulfur heterocycles (PASHs) and their related alkylated forms (APAHs and APASHs). In this study, a method was successfully developed employing a gas chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight (GC-QToF) mass spectrometer to quantitatively analyze both PAHs/APAHs and PASHs/APASHs in these samples. With GC-QToF, the monoisotopic mass of the compounds is distinguished, allowing the PASHs/APASHs to be extracted separately from the PAHs/APAHs in crude oil.

Enhanced analysis of weathered crude oils by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry diagnostic ratios, and multivariate statistics.

Artificially weathered crude oil "spill" samples were matched to unweathered suspect "source" oils through a three-tiered approach as follows: Tier 1 gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC/FID), Tier 2 gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) diagnostic ratios, and Tier 3 multivariate statistics. This study served as proof of concept for a promising and new method of crude oil forensics that applies principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) in tandem with traditional forensic oil fingerprinting tools to confer additional confidence in challenging oil spill cases. In this study, weathering resulted in physical and chemical changes to the spilled oils, thereby decreasing the reliability of GC/FID and GC/MS diagnostic ratios in source attribution.

Tiered approach to long-term weathered lubricating oil analysis: GC/FID, GC/MS diagnostic ratios, and multivariate statistics.

Frequent small-scale environmental releases of lubricating (lube) oils have deleterious effects on aquatic ecosystems. In the event of a spill, oil fingerprinting is critical to source attribution, clean-up procedures, and liability assignment. Oil forensic investigations are particularly challenging when oils are weathered over an extended period of time, as a large number of biomarkers become lost and the chemical composition changes significantly from its source.

Evaluation of Gene Bioindicators in the Liver and Caudal Fin of Juvenile Pacific Coho Salmon in Response to Low Sulfur Marine Diesel Seawater-Accommodated Fraction Exposure.

Low sulfur marine diesel (LSMD) is frequently involved in coastal spills and monitoring ecosystem damage, and the effectiveness of cleanup methods remains a challenge. The present study investigates the concentration and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) dispersed in LSMD seawater accommodated fractions (WAFs) and assesses the effects of exposure on juvenile coho salmon ( Onchorhynchus kisutch). Three WAFs were prepared with 333, 1067, and 3333 mg/L LSMD.

Superhydrophobic Substrates from Off-the-Shelf Laboratory Filter Paper: Simplified Preparation, Patterning, and Assay Application.

Off-the-shelf laboratory filter paper of different pore sizes and thicknesses can be modified with fluorine-free organosilanes to be superhydrophobic, patternable, and ready for quantitative assay applications. In particular, we have demonstrated that the cellulose filter paper treated with a binary hexane solution of short (methyltrichlorosilane) and long (octadecyltrichlorosilane) organosilanes exhibits remarkably high water contact angles (>150°) and low wetting hysteresis (∼10°). Beyond the optimized ratio between the two organosilanes, we have discovered that the thickness rather than the pore size dictates the resulting superhydrophobicity.

Facile Preparation of Nanostructured, Superhydrophobic Filter Paper for Efficient Water/Oil Separation.

In this paper, we present a facile and cost-effective method to obtain superhydrophobic filter paper and demonstrate its application for efficient water/oil separation. By coupling structurally distinct organosilane precursors (e.g.