Using MALDI-TOF MS imaging and LC-HRMS for the investigation of the degradation of polycaprolactone diol exposed to different wastewater treatments

Polymers are used in high amounts in a wide range of applications from biomedicine to industry. Because of the growing awareness of the increasing amounts of plastic wastes in the aquatic environment during recent years, the evaluation of their biodegradability deserves special attention. In the pas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 2017-09, Vol.409 (23), p.5401-5411
Main Authors: Rivas, Daniel, Zonja, Bozo, Eichhorn, Peter, Ginebreda, Antoni, Pérez, Sandra, Barceló, Damià
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advances in LC-MS/MS Analysis
Analytical Chemistry
Aquatic environment
Bacteria
Biochemistry
Biodegradability
Biodegradation
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemical properties
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Chromatography, Liquid - methods
Composts
Degradation
Degradation products
Denitrification
Desorption
Diethylene glycol
Environmental aspects
Exposure
Food Science
Glycols (Class of compounds)
Hydrolysis
Ionization
Ions
Laboratory Medicine
Lasers
Liquid chromatography
Mass spectra
Mass spectrometry
Mass Spectrometry - methods
Mass spectroscopy
Methods
Molecular weight
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Oligomers
Plastics
Polycaprolactone
Polyester resins
Polyesters
Polyesters - chemistry
Polymers
Research Paper
Spatial distribution
Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization - methods
Time-of-flight mass spectrometry
Waste Water
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water Purification - methods
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Summary:Polymers are used in high amounts in a wide range of applications from biomedicine to industry. Because of the growing awareness of the increasing amounts of plastic wastes in the aquatic environment during recent years, the evaluation of their biodegradability deserves special attention. In the past, most efforts were dedicated to studying the biodegradation of polyesters in soil and compost, while very little research has been conducted on their fate in wastewater. Here, we assessed the ability of bacterial communities residing in the aerobic and denitrification tank from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to degrade the polymeric ester polycaprolactone diol (PCLD; average molecular weight of 1250 Da). Following the incubation of the solid polymer in WWTP tanks, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) was used to provide evidence for hydrolytic reactions and to study differences in the spatial degradation on the PCLD surface. It was demonstrated that regardless of the wastewater type, the chemical structure on the PCLD surface underwent modifications after 7 days of exposure. Apart from the parent PCLD peak series in MALDI-MSI mass spectra, the presence of a second oligomer series with mass peaks spaced by m / z 114 (as in PCLD) was observed. It was proposed to correspond to polycaprolactone (PCL) originating from the hydrolytic cleavage of the diethylene glycol from PCLD. Their ion masses were detected at m / z 104 below the PCLD peaks and their structures were proposed as PCL cyclized oligomers. Differences in the spatial distribution of low MW ions (
ISSN:1618-2642
1618-2650
DOI:10.1007/s00216-017-0371-1