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Cited by 41Analytical chemistry methods developmentArsenic contamination and mitigationMercury impact and mitigation studies

Quantification of Methylated Selenium, Sulfur, and Arsenic in the Environment

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Vriens, Bas, Ammann, Adrian A., Hagendorfer, Harald, Lenz, Markus, Berg, Michael, Winkel, Lenny H. E.·2014·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0102906PMC PMC4105483
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Abstract

Biomethylation and volatilization of trace elements may contribute to their redistribution in the environment. However, quantification of volatile, methylated species in the environment is complicated by a lack of straightforward and field-deployable air sampling methods that preserve element speciation. This paper presents a robust and versatile gas trapping method for the simultaneous preconcentration of volatile selenium (Se), sulfur (S), and arsenic (As) species. Using HPLC-HR-ICP-MS and ESI-MS/MS analyses, we demonstrate that volatile Se and S species efficiently transform into specific non-volatile compounds during trapping, which enables the deduction of the original gaseous speciation. With minor adaptations, the presented HPLC-HR-ICP-MS method also allows for the quantification of 13 non-volatile methylated species and oxyanions of Se, S, and As in natural waters. Application of these methods in a peatland indicated that, at the selected sites, fluxes varied between 190-210 ng Se·m(-2)·d(-1), 90-270 ng As·m(-2)·d(-1), and 4-14 µg S·m(-2)·d(-1), and contained at least 70% methylated Se and S species. In the surface water, methylated species were particularly abundant for As (>50% of total As). Our results indicate that methylation plays a significant role in the biogeochemical cycles of these elements.

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  • The biogenic production of volatile Se compounds and the corresponding Se emissions have been assessed in a variety of environmental compartments including soils and sediments, plant leaves, peat bogs, estuarine waters, lakes, and the marine environment.

    “Although quantitative measurements are relatively scarce, the biogenic production of volatile Se compounds and the corresponding Se emissions have been assessed in a variety of environmental compartments including soils and sediments [37,262,263,264,265,266,267], plant leaves [268], peat bogs [95,261], estuarine waters [268], lakes [269] and in the marine environment [92,96].”

    From Selenium Cycling Across Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interfaces: A Critical Review (2015) · cites this paper as [261]

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Research works printed but not linked: 28

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

  • Selenium Cycling Across Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interfaces: A Critical Review

    Winkel, L., Vriens, B., Jones, G., Schneider, L., Pilon-Smits, E., & Bañuelos, G. (2015) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu7064199 · Cited by 476 · see citing works

    “Although quantitative measurements are relatively scarce, the biogenic production of volatile Se compounds and the corresponding Se emissions have been assessed in a v ariety of environmental compartments including soils and sediments [37,262–267], plant leaves [268], peat bogs [95,261], Eawag_08811”
    BackgroundSelf-citation

Authors
Vriens, B., Ammann, A. A., Hagendorfer, H., Lenz, M., Berg, M., & Winkel, L. H. E.
Affiliations
  • ETH Zurich (CH)
  • Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (CH)
  • Empa (CH)
  • FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (CH)
Corresponding author
Winkel, Lenny H. E.
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2014-07-21
Volume
9
Issue
7
Pages
e102906
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0102906
PMC
PMC4105483
OpenAlex
W2108587689
Cited by
41
References
4
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2013: 1
FWCI
2.69
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • DORA Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DORA Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • ETH Zürich Research Collection (cc-by)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (133619, 200020, 138210)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Analytical Chemistry › Analytical chemistry methods development
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Arsenic contamination and mitigation
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Mercury impact and mitigation studies
Keywords
methylated arsenic, volatile trace elements, air trapping, element speciation, selenium volatilization, arsenic volatilization, sulfur volatilization, methyltransferase activity, element fluxes, peatlands, surface water, biogeochemical cycles, air sampling
MeSH terms
Arsenic, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Environment, Selenium, Sulfur, Trace Elements, Volatilization, Tandem Mass Spectrometry

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