Arsenic-containing fatty acids and hydrocarbons in marine oils – determination using reversed-phase HPLC–ICP-MS and HPLC–qTOF-MS

Arsenolipids are the major arsenic species present in marine oils. Several structures of arsenolipids have been elucidated the last 5 years, demonstrating the chemical complexity of this trace element in the marine environment. Several commercial fish oils and marine oils, ranging in total arsenic concentrations from 1.6 to 12.5 mg kg−1 oil, were analyzed for arsenolipids using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC–ICP-MS). The arsenolipids were quantified using three different arsenic-containing calibration standards; dimethylarsinate (DMA), triphenylarsinoxide (Ph3AsO) and a synthesized arsenic-containing hydrocarbon (AsHC) (dimethylarsinoyl nonadecane; C21H43AsO). The observed variation in signal intensity for arsenic during the gradient elution profile in reversed-phase HPLC was compensated for by determining the time-resolved response factors for the arsenolipids. Isotopes of germanium (74Ge) and indium (115In) were suited as internal standards for arsenic, and were used for verification of the arsenic signal response factors during the gradient elution. Dimethylarsinate was the most suitable calibration standard for the quantification of arsenolipids, with recoveries between 91% and 104% compared to total arsenic measurements in the same extracts. A range of marine oils was investigated, including oils of several fish species, cod liver and seal, as well as three commercial fish oils. The AsHCs – C17H38AsO, C19H42AsO and C23H38AsO – were identified as the major arsenolipids in the extracts of all oils by HPLC coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (qTOF-MS). Minor amounts of two arsenic-containing fatty acids (AsFAs) (C23H38AsO3 and C24H38AsO3) were also detected in the oils. The sum of the AsHCs and the AsFAs determined in the present study accounted for 17–42% of the total arsenic in the oils.