Bioaccumulation of Tributyltin by Blue Crabs

• Published in: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society Vol. 24; no. 10; pp. 1642 - 1648
• Main Authors: Vannuci-Silva, Monizze, Menegario, Amauri A., Franchi, Mariana, Brossi-Garcia, Ana L., Souza, João M. de, Araújo Júnior, Marcus A. G. de, Lopes, Monica A. F. S. Bindes G., Govone, José S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química 01.10.2013
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; ICP-MS; tin bioaccumulation; speciation; HG-ICP OES
• ISSN: 0103-5053; 1678-4790
• DOI: 10.5935/0103-5053.20130209

This study evaluated the bioaccumulation of tributyltin (TBT) by the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). Animals were fed with contaminated food containing 30 µg g-1 of TBT expressed as Sn. The analytes were determined in the gills, hepatopancreas and muscle. Acid digestion was used in the total Sn determination, and a solid-phase extraction technique was used for the selective determination of TBT. Limits of detection of 44.6 and 4.46 ng g-1 were found for HG-ICP OES (hydride generation-inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy) and ICP-MS (ICP-mass spectrometry), respectively. The results for non-contaminated animals were below 50 ng g-1, while the animals subjected to the contaminated food showed higher tissue concentrations of Sn (until 6229 ng g-1) and TBT (until 3357 ng g-1) related to the number of exposure days. According to the results, Sn is bioaccumulated by the blue crab in higher concentrations in the hepatopancreas. For most of these animals, the results suggest that Sn is bioaccumulated as TBT.