Nonexhaustive ß-cyclodextrin extraction as a chemical tool to estimate bioavailability of hydrophobic pesticides for earthworms.

Chemical methods to assess bioavailability in soil and sediment often use synthetic polymers that mimic uptake of organic compounds in organisms or microbial degradation. In this paper we have assessed a biomimetic extraction method using hydroxyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) to estimate uptake of the two insecticides α-cypermethrin (α-CYP) and chlorfenvinphos (CFVP) in the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Additionally, a novel approach was developed to estimate the efficiency of biomimetic extractions. The study revealed that HP-β-CD is a suitable surrogate for estimating the bioaccessibility of hydrophobic chemicals in soil. If one uses a 3.5 times higher amount of HP-β-CD than soil, effective and reproducible extractions can be achieved within 48 h. At these conditions, inclusion of dissolved chemicals by HP-β-CD mimics uptake of a given compound into earthworms and takes into account sorption-related aspects that control biological uptake. The data indicate that, with increasing hydrophobicity, the affinity of organic chemicals to HP-β-CD does not increase to the same degree as to soil organic matter. Therefore, a high surplus of HP-β-CD is necessary to provide a sufficient extraction capacity in biomimetic extractions.