Courtney Tanabe, Helene Hopfer, Kevin Kubachka, Susan Ebeler, and Jenny Nelson*
*Agilent Technologies, Inc., 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051 (jenny_nelson@agilent.com)

Arsenic (As) is an element naturally found in the environment, in both organic and inorganic forms and in numerous oxidation states or species. Natural sources like volcanic activity have increased arsenic levels in the environment over time. However, various anthropogenic activities such as mining and farming with arsenic-containing pesticides have also greatly increased concentrations in the environment. Arsenic is a known carcinogen and inorganic forms are primarily associated with long-term negative health effects, while the organic forms are less toxic. Therefore, determination of total arsenic content, as described by various regulations, does not provide a complete picture of the risks associated with arsenic intake.

For this study, concentrations of five different As species were analyzed in 40 California wines. The inorganic As forms included arsenite (AsIII) and arsenate (AsV), and the organic As forms included monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and arsenobetaine (AsB). The selected wines included five different wine types: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and fortified. The samples had varying levels of alcohol content, which has previously made elemental analysis of wine difficult. The method for this project was developed for fast and accurate As speciation, which could be used for all wine types. Arsenic speciation was determined using ion exchange high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole, inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometer (HPLC-ICP-QQQ). The presentation will discuss the levels of the various arsenic species identified in the wines and how the levels compare to values reported by other studies for wine samples and various food products.

Funding Support: University of California, Davis, Agilent Technologies, Inc.