Abstract
A combination of 19F-NMR spectroscopy, HPLC-MS/MS, HPLC-MS with constant neutral loss scanning of 127, and HPLC-ICPMS with iodine detection has enabled the profiling, quantification, and limited characterization of the metabolites produced in the earthworm Eisenia veneta, following exposure to 2-fluoro-4-iodoaniline. Mass spectrometric analysis of the worm tissue and coelomic fluid afforded the identification of two Phase II metabolites, N-glutamyl and N-glucoside conjugates, indicating the importance of these pathways in the detoxification of xenobiotics for earthworms. Several further metabolites were observed and quantified by 19F-NMR spectroscopy and HPLC-127I-ICPMS, although these were of low abundance and their structures were not unequivocally identified. The parent compound and the glutamyl conjugate were found to be the major xenobiotic components of both the coelomic fluid and the worm tissue, representing approximately 23 and approximately 35%, respectively, of the dose that was recovered from the earthworm tissue extract.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank GV Instruments/Micromass/Waters for access to ICPMS and MS instrumentation. The Royal Society of Chemistry (Analytical Division), EPSRC, and AstraZeneca are acknowledged for financial support to C. J. Duckett. In addition, the authors acknowledge the provision of earthworm samples from Dr J. Bundy (NERC, Environmental Diagnostics Programme).