Diversity and abundance of high-molecular-weight azaarenes in PAH-contaminated environmental samples

Abstract

Azaarenes are N-heterocyclic polyaromatic pollutants that co-occur with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated soils. Despite the known toxicity of some high-molecular-weight azaarenes, their diversity, abundance, and fate in contaminated soils remain to be elucidated. We applied high-resolution mass spectrometry and mass-defect filtering to four PAH-contaminated samples from geographically distant sites and detected 232 azaarene congeners distributed in eight homologous series, including alkylated derivatives and two hitherto unknown series. Four- and five-ring azaarenes were detected among these series, and the most abundant nonalkylated congeners groups (C13H9N, C15H9N, C17H11N, C19H11N, and C21H13N) were quantified. The profiles of congener groups varied among different sites. Three-ring azaarenes presented higher concentrations in unweathered sites, while four- and five-ring azaarenes predominated in weathered sites. Known toxic and carcinogenic azaarenes, such as benzo[c]acridine and dibenzo[a,h]acridine, were detected along with their multiple isomers. Our results highlight a previously unrecognized diversity and abundance of azaarenes in PAH-contaminated sites, with corresponding implications for environmental monitoring and risk assessment.