Screening pyrene metabolites in the hemolymph of dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) with synchronous fluorescence spectrometry: method development and application.

The present study examined the metabolic pathways of pyrene in dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) in the laboratory and the potential of using synchronous fluorescence spectrometry (SFS) to determine pyrene metabolite concentrations in the hemolymph of crabs exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the field. Pyrene was metabolized by crabs mainly to 1-hydroxypyrene and pyrene-1-glucoside. Both pyrene metabolites could be detected by SFS in the hemolymph of crabs. A nondestructive hemolymph collection procedure was developed and used in conjunction with the SFS assay to assess the exposure of crabs to PAHs in Kitimat Arm (British Columbia, Canada). Our results showed that crabs obtained near the source of PAH contamination had the highest level of pyrene-related fluorescence in the hemolymph, whereas concentrations were lower at other sites downstream from the pollution source. In a separate study, the hepatopancreases of crabs were analyzed for parent PAHs by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Pyrene-associated fluorescent responses of the hemolymph were found to correlate positively with the concentration of total PAHs in the hepatopancreas (r = 0.39, p < 0.05).