Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    Toxicity of individual naphthenic acids to Vibrio fischeri

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Jones, D.
    Scarlett, Alan
    West, C.
    Rowland, S.
    Date
    2011
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Jones, D. and Scarlett, A. and West, C. and Rowland, S. 2011. Toxicity of individual naphthenic acids to Vibrio fischeri. Environmental Science and Technology. 45 (22): pp. 9776-9782.
    Source Title
    Environmental Science and Technology
    DOI
    10.1021/es201948j
    ISSN
    0013-936X
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35149
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Numerous studies have suggested that the toxicity of organic compounds containing at least one carboxylic acid group and broadly classified as "naphthenic acids", is of environmental concern. For example, the acute toxicity of the more than 1 billion m3 of oil sands process-affected water and the hormonal activity of some offshore produced waters has been attributed to the acids. However, experimental evidence for the toxicity of the individual acids causing these effects has not been very forthcoming. Instead, most data have been gathered from assays of incompletely characterized extracts of the water, which may contain other toxic constituents. An alternative approach is to assay the individual identified toxicants. Since numerous petroleum-derived naphthenic acids and some in oil sands process water, have recently been identified, we were able to measure the toxicity of some individual acids to the bioluminescent bacterium, Vibrio fischeri. Thirty-five pure individual acids were either synthesized or purchased for this purpose. We also used the US EPA ECOSAR computer model to predict the toxicity of each acid to the water flea, Daphnia magna. Both are well-accepted toxicological screening end points. The results show how toxic some of the naphthenic acids really are (e.g., V. fischeri Effective Concentrations for 50% response (EC50) 0.004 to 0.7 mM) and reveal the influence of hydrophobicity and aqueous solubility on the toxicities. Comparison with measured toxicities of other known, but more minor, constituents of oil sands process water, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkylphenols, helps place these toxicities into a wider context. Given the reported toxicological effects of naphthenic acids to other organisms (e.g., fish, plants), the toxicities of the acids to further end points should now be determined. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Compositional heterogeneity may limit the usefulness of some commercial naphthenic acids for toxicity assays
      West, C.; Jones, D.; Scarlett, Alan; Rowland, S. (2011)
      Naphthenic acids are considered variously as monocarboxylic acids fitting the formula C nH 2n+zO 2 (where z is a zero or negative even integer), as only alicyclic (i.e. non-aromatic) monocarboxylic acids fitting this ...
    • Acute toxicity of aromatic and non-aromatic fractions of naphthenic acids extracted from oil sands process-affected water to larval zebrafish
      Scarlett, Alan; Reinardy, H.; Henry, T.; West, C.; Frank, R.; Hewitt, L.; Rowland, S. (2013)
      The toxicity of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) has regularly been attributed to naphthenic acids, which exist in complex mixtures. If on remediation treatment (e.g., ozonation) or on entering the environment, the ...
    • Identification of individual acids in a commercial sample of naphthenic acids from petroleum by two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
      Rowland, S.; West, C.; Scarlett, Alan; Jones, D. (2011)
      The identification of most individual members of the complex mixtures of carboxylic acids found in petroleum ('naphthenic acids') has eluded chemists for over a century; they remain unresolved by conventional gas ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.