Reply to the comment on “New insights into the biomineralization of mercury selenide nanoparticles through stable isotope analysis in giant petrel tissues” by A. Manceau, J. Hazard. Mater. 425 (2021) 127922. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127922

• Published in: Journal of Hazardous Materials
• Main Authors: Queipo-Abad, Silvia, Pedrero, Zoyne, Marchán-Moreno, Claudia, El Hanafi, Khouloud, Bérail, Sylvain, Corns, Warren, Cherel, Yves, Bustamante, Paco, Amouroux, David
• Other Authors: Institut des sciences analytiques et de physico-chimie pour l'environnement et les materiaux (IPREM), Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés - UMR 7266 (LIENSs), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: HgSe nanoparticles; Isotopic fractionation; MeHg demethylation; Mercury; Seabirds; [CHIM.MATE]Chemical Sciences/Material chemistry; [CHIM.POLY]Chemical Sciences/Polymers; [CHIM.THEO]Chemical Sciences/Theoretical and/or physical chemistry; [CHIM.ANAL]Chemical Sciences/Analytical chemistry; Giant Petrel
• Online Access: https://hal-univ-pau.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03614972; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128582

International audience In the comments reported by A. Manceau [1], relating to our recent paper on mercury (Hg) species-specific isotopic characterization in giant petrel tissues [2] two critical questions were raised. Firstly, according to A. Manceau, our method of extraction and isolation of nanoparticles was not able to efficiently isolate mercury selenide nanoparticles (HgSe NPs) and therefore the δ202Hg values measured are not species-specific, but rather δ202Hg of mixtures of complexes such as MeHgCys, Hg(Sec)4, and HgSe. Secondly, he suggests that our main findings showing that no isotopic fractionation is induced during the HgSe NPs biomineralization step from the precursor-demethylated species is erroneous because it contradicts the conclusion of two recent articles by A. Manceau and co-workers [3,4]. In this reply we defend our scientific findings and respectively respond to the questions and comments raised by A. Manceau.