Environmental methylation of tin: an assessment.

The chemical and biological methylation of tin under environmental conditions is reviewed. The question of whether methyltin species form in situ in the environment is also considered. Analytical approaches using hydridization techniques give quite sensitive results. Incubation studies of environmental microorganisms and sediment have demonstrated the formation of methyltin species, and similar conversions have been observed with chemical methylating agents such as methyl cobalamin and methyl iodide.