Halonaphthoquinones: A group of emerging disinfection byproducts of high toxicity in drinking water

Aromatic halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) have received particular attention in recent years due to their high toxicity. However, most relevant researches at present focused merely on halo-monocyclic DBPs, while halo-polycyclic DBPs were scarcely explored. In this study, a new group of halo-bicyclic DBPs termed as halonaphthoquinones (HNQs) was systematically studied. By coupling with vacuum centrifugal concentrator, a SPEUPLC-MS/MS method with high accuracy and sensitivity was developed to detect five semi-volatile HNQs in drinking water, which achieved the detection limits in the range of 0.05-0.24 ng/L. Five HNQs were identified using this method with 100% detection frequency at concentrations up to 136.7 ng/L in drinking water originated from seven water treatment plants. The cytotoxicity of the five tested HNQs in CHO-K1 cells (IC50 from 3.17 to 13.18 mu M) was comparable to the most toxic known carbonaceous DBP in drinking water, iodoacetic acid (IC50=2.95 mu M). Meanwhile, the cytotoxicity of five tested HNQs were also higher than 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (IC50=21.73 mu M) which is hundreds to thousands of times more toxic than regulated DBPs, indicating the significant toxicity risk of HNQ DBPs. To the best of our knowledge, this study presents the first analytical method for analysis of HNQ DBPs, and the first set of data on the occurrence and cytotoxicity of HNQ DBPs in drinking water. These findings are meaningful for probing deeply into the presence of varied halo-polycyclic DBPs in the aqueous environment.

Automated summary

Aromatic halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) have high toxicity and have been the focus of research, but most studies have focused on halo-monocyclic DBPs, while halo-polycyclic DBPs have been largely unexplored. This study systematically studied a new group of halo-bicyclic DBPs called halonaphthoquinones (HNQs), and developed a highly accurate and sensitive method to detect HNQs in drinking water.