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Hundreds of Unrecognized Halogenated Contaminants Discovered in Polar Bear Serum
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Hundreds of Unrecognized Halogenated Contaminants Discovered in Polar Bear Serum

Yanna Liu, Evan S Richardson, Andrew E Derocher, Nicholas J Lunn, Hans-Joachim Lehmler, Xueshu Li, Yifeng Zhang, Julia Yue Cui, Lihua Cheng and Jonathan W Martin
Angewandte Chemie (International ed.), Vol.57(50), pp.16401-16644
12/10/2018
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201809906
PMCID: PMC6394828
PMID: 30376612

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Abstract

Exposure of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to persistent organic pollutants was discovered in the 1970s, but recent evidence suggests the presence of unknown toxic chemicals in their blood. Protein and phospholipid depleted serum was stirred with polyethersulfone capillaries to extract a broad range of analytes, and nontarget mass spectrometry with "fragmentation flagging" was used for detection. Hundreds of analytes were discovered belonging to 13 classes, including novel polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) metabolites and many fluorinated or chlorinated substances not previously detected. All analytes were detected in the oldest (mid-1980s) archived polar bear serum from Hudson Bay and Beaufort Sea, and all fluorinated classes showed increasing trends. A mouse experiment confirmed the novel PCB metabolites, suggesting that these could be widespread in mammals. Historical exposure and toxic risk has been underestimated, and these halogenated contaminants pose uncertain risks to this threatened species.
Environmental Monitoring Mass Spectrometry Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis Animals Hydrocarbons, Halogenated - analysis Halogenation Polychlorinated Biphenyls - blood Male Hydrocarbons, Halogenated - blood Ursidae - blood Environmental Pollutants - analysis Environmental Pollutants - blood Synthesis Core

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