Position Specific Isotope Analysis (PSIA) / Is this approach a highly discriminating Environmental Forensics Tool?

在这里，我们提出了一个“飞跃”，将位置特异同位素分析应用于环境法医，这是一个在生物地球化学/生物降解研究中具有巨大潜力的主题。化合物特定同位素分析（CSIA）是一种相对较新的环境鉴证方法（确定环境中污染物的来源）。PSIA可以揭示/解开CSIA所提出的问题，并跳过我们对环境中污染物命运的理解。同位素分馏仅限于与限速生物降解步骤相关的污染物分子中的位点或键上的反应。这些分馏效应在“全分子”CSIA中由于不反应的碳原子的存在而被稀释。然而，分子内同位素比率对这种分馏效应很敏感，可以用来确定降解的途径和机制。因此，利用Kalin教授的EPSRC资助的平台资助资源，为这项拟议的“投机工程”研究提供了对场地和样本的“基线”访问，从而使这里提出的研究能够专注于解决以下问题：PSIA对环境取证应用有用吗？目前的惯例会说PSIA对于“现实世界”是不切实际的，然而我们挑战这一点，并坚信这种方法的潜力。在PSIA的环境法医应用上，还有许多其他领域的研究可能受益于协同的推测性研究，其结果肯定会对释放到环境中的污染物有机化合物的生物地球化学循环提供一些见解。

Here we propose a 'leap foward' with the application of Position Specific Isotope Analysis to Environmental Forensics, a topic which has a large un-tapped potential for biogeochemical / biodegradation studies. Compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) is a relatively new methods in Enviornmental Forenscis (figuring out where the contamination in the environment comes from). PSIA could uncover / unlock the questions that CSIA has opened up and leap-frog our understanding of the fate of contaminants in the environment. Isotopic fractionation is limited to reactions at the site or bond in the contaminant molecule associated with the rate-limiting biodegradation step. These fractionation effects are diluted in 'whole molecule' CSIA by the presence of non-reacting carbon atoms. Intramolecular isotope ratios however would be sensitive to such fractionation effects and could be used to determine the pathways and mechanism of degradation. Leveraging the resources of Prof. Kalin's EPSRC funded Platform Grant therefore provides the 'base-line real-world' access to sites and samples for this proposed 'Speculative Engineering' research, thereby allowing the research proposed here to solely focus on solving the question: Is PSIA useful for Environmental Forensics applications?Current convention would say that PSIA is impracticable for the 'real world', however we challenge this and firmly believe in the potential of this approach. There are many other areas of research that may benefit from a concerted speculative research effort on the Environmental Forensic application of PSIA, the results of which are certain to give some insight into the biogeochemical cycling of contaminant organic compounds released to the environment.