Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Characterization of Oil and Dispersants in Canadian Marine Environments

NSERC RTI的请求将有助于获得气相色谱串联质谱（GC-MS/MS）系统，用于加拿大海洋环境中的石油和分散剂的表征。GC是一种基本的色谱法，用于从混合物中分离和分析目标纯组分，MS/MS集成了两个质谱仪，以放大分析有机化学品的能力，特别是在痕量水平。该设备是一个可行的工具，可以容纳世界级的专门知识，以支持海洋溢油应急方面的前沿研究。它将促进转向新的和无害环境的方法和解决寒冷海洋环境中石油泄漏的办法。北大西洋和加拿大北极地区迫切需要该领域的创新，因为那里的恶劣环境（例如，冷水、波涛汹涌的海面、海冰和低能见度）挑战了当前的知识和技术，并且在近海作业的兴趣和活动（例如，石油和天然气运输和开发）正在增长。所提出的设备可用于分析（1）样品中的主要烃（正烷烃、16种多环芳烃、烷基化多环芳烃、含氧馏分），以计算由于风化（包括挥发、光氧化和微生物降解）导致的源油和分散油降解速率，（2）生物标志物（例如，二金刚烷、倍半萜烷和烷基化多环芳烃）用于区分和追踪多种海洋情况下分散的油，（3）磷脂脂肪酸（PLFA）用于分析油污染的海洋环境中的微生物活性，和（4）生物表面活性剂的脂肪酸和/或糖类组合物用于帮助产生新的/绿色油分散剂。** 拟议研究方案的产出将包括：（一）先进的GC-MS/MS分析方法;（二）低毒性、可生物降解和有效的石油溢漏反应分散剂;（三）增进关于石油和分散剂行为以及关于加拿大海洋环境中溢漏石油与海洋颗粒和生物相互作用的知识。这些发现不仅将填补知识和技术空白，提供具有潜在巨大科学和实用价值的可行解决方案，而且有助于为HQP和合作者创造一流的激励和丰富的培训/研究环境。它将促进技术转让，使工业和政府受益，使加拿大成为海洋溢油应急研究的领先国家，并帮助为650万居住在海岸附近的加拿大人提供更安全的生活环境。

The NSERC RTI request will help get a Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) system for Characterization of Oil and Dispersants in Canadian Marine Environments. GC is an essential chromatography designed for separation and analysis of targeting pure components from a mixture, and MS/MS integrates two mass spectrometers to amplify the capacities to analyze organic chemicals, especially in a trace level. The equipment is a feasible tool to host world-class expertise for supporting leading-edge research on marine oil spill response. It will facilitate a shift towards novel and environmentally friendly methodologies and solutions for oil spills in cold marine environments. Innovation in the field is urgently needed in North Atlantic and Arctic Canada, where harsh environments (e.g., cold water, rough seas, sea ice, and low visibility) challenge the current knowledge and technologies, and where interest and activities of the offshore operations (e.g., oil and gas shipping and development) are growing.******The proposed equipment can be used to analyze (1) primary hydrocarbons (n-alkanes, 16 PAHs, alkylated PAHs, oxygenated fractions) in samples for calculating source oil and dispersed oil degradation rates due to weathering including volatilization, photo-oxidation and microbial degradation, (2) biomarkers (e.g., diamantanes, sesquiterpanes, and alkylated-PAHs) for differentiating and tracing dispersed oil under multiple ocean scenarios, (3) phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) for profiling microbial activities in oil polluted marine environments, and (4) fatty acid and/or saccharide compositions of biosurfactants for aiding new/green oil dispersant generation. ******Outputs of the proposed research programs would include such as (i) advanced GC-MS/MS based analytical methods, (ii) low-toxic, biodegradable and effective dispersants for oil spill response; (iii) improved knowledge on behaviors of oil and dispersants, as well as on interactions of spilled oil with marine particles and organisms in Canadian marine environments. The findings will not only fill the knowledge and technical gaps, provide feasible solutions with potentially huge scientific and practical values, but help create a first-class stimulating and enriched training/research environment for HQP and collaborators. It will promote technology transfer to benefit industry and government, establish Canada as a leading country in marine oil spill response research, and help provide 6.5 million Canadians who live near marine coasts with a safer living environment.*****