Concentration and congener pattern of polychlorinated biphenyls in blubber and liver of Hubbs' beaked whale (Mesoplodon carlhubbsi), using a sulfoxide and an Ag-ION solid phase extraction cartridge as a simplified cleanup technique for biological samples

- PCBs were measured in Hubbs' beaked whale in the blubber and liver.
- Solid phase extraction cartridges could remove whale oil effectively.
- The PCBs in the blubber and liver were 13,000 and 7300 ng/g lipid, respectively.
- PCB-153 and Hexa-CBs were the major congener and homologues.
- PCBs were metabolized differently according to their specific composition.

We performed the first known study of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations and patterns in the blubber and liver of a Hubbs' beaked whale. Samples were pretreated with Supelclean™ sulfoxide and Discovery® Ag-ION solid phase extraction cartridges to remove whale oil. PCB concentrations in the blubber and liver were 13,000 and 7300 ng/g lipid, respectively. Highly poisonous congeners such as dioxin-like (DL) PCBs tended to accumulate in the liver. The toxic equivalents (TEQ) of DL-PCBs in the liver (740 pg-TEQ/g lipid) were higher than those in the blubber (74 pg-TEQ/g lipid). The blubber and liver samples showed that hexachlorinated biphenyls were dominant among homologues, and PCB-153 was dominant among congeners. Several congeners accumulated disproportionately in the blubber and the liver (PCB-28, 52, 74, 99, and 118), while others did not persist (PCB-31, 70, and 110). This indicates that PCBs are metabolized differently according to their specific composition.