Uptake Kinetics, Accumulation, and Long-Distance Transport of Organophosphate Esters in Plants: Impacts of Chemical and Plant Properties

The uptake, accumulation, and long-distance transport of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in four kinds of plants were investigated by hydroponic experiments. The uptake kinetics (k1,root) of OPEs in plant roots were determined by the binding of OPEs with the proteins in plant roots and apoplastic sap for the hydrophobic compounds, which correlated well with the transpiration capacity of the plants for the hydrophilic compounds. However, the accumulation capacity of OPEs in plant root was controlled by the partition of OPEs to plant lipids. As a consequence, OPEs were taken up the fastest in wheat root as a result of its highest protein content but least accumulated as a result of its lowest lipid content. The translocation factor of the OPEs decreased quickly with the hydrophobicity (log Kow) increasing, suggesting that the hydrophobic OPEs were hard to translocate from roots to shoots. The hydrophilic OPEs, such as tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate and tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate, were ambimobile in the plant xylem and phloem, suggesting that they could move to the edible parts of plants and enhanced risk to human health.