Analytical methods and tools for the characterization of the human exposome by untargeted mass spectrometry approaches are advancing rapidly. Adductomics methods have been developed for untargeted screening of short-lived electrophiles, in the form of adducts to proteins or DNA, in vivo. The identification of an adduct and its precursor electrophile in the blood is more complex than that of stable chemicals. The present work aims to illustrate procedures for the identification of an adduct to N-terminal valine in hemoglobin detected with adductomics, and pathways for the tracing of its precursor and possible exposure sources. Identification of the adduct proceeded via preparation and characterization of standards of adduct analytes. Possible precursor(s) and exposure sources were investigated by measurements in blood of adduct formation by precursors in vitro and adduct levels in vivo. The adduct was identified as hydroxypropanoic acid valine (HPA-Val) by verification with a synthesized reference. The HPA-Val was measured together with other adducts (from acrylamide, glycidamide, glycidol, and acrylic acid) in human blood (n = 51, schoolchildren). The HPA-Val levels ranged between 6 and 76 pmol/g hemoglobin. The analysis of reference samples from humans and rodents showed that the HPA-Val adduct was observed in all studied samples. No correlation of the HPA-Val level with the other studied adducts was observed in humans, nor was an increase in tobacco smokers observed. A small increase was observed in rodents exposed to glycidol. The formation of the HPA-Val adduct upon incubation of blood with glycidic acid (an epoxide) was shown. The relatively high adduct levels observed in vivo in relation to the measured reactivity of the epoxide, and the fact that the epoxide is not described as naturally occurring, suggest that glycidic acid is not the only precursor of the HPA-Val adduct identified in vivo. Another endogenous electrophile is suspected to contribute to the in vivo HPA-Val adduct level. 

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an anticonvulsant medication with highly persistent properties in the aquatic environment, where it has the potential to affect nontarget biota. Because CBZ and many other pharmaceuticals are not readily removed in conventional sewage treatment plants (STP), additional STP effluent treatment technologies are being evaluated and implemented. Whole effluent ozonation is a prospective method to remove pharmaceuticals such as CBZ, yet knowledge on the toxicity of CBZ ozonation byproducts (OBPs) is lacking. This study presents, for the first time, in vivo individual and mixture toxicity of four putative OBPs, that is, carbamazepine 10,11-epoxide, 10,11-Dihydrocarbamazepine, 1-(2-benzaldehyde)-4-hydro-(1H,3H)-quinazoline-2-one (BQM), and 1-(2-benzaldehyde)-(1H,3H)-quinazoline-2,4-dione (BQD) in developing zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. BQM and BQD were isolated from the ozonated solution as they were not commercially available. The study confirmed that the OBP mixture caused embryotoxic responses comparable to that of ozonated CBZ. Individual compound embryotoxicity assessment further revealed that BQM and BQD were the drivers of embryotoxicity. OBP chemical stability in ozonated CBZ water solution during 2 week dark storage at 22 degrees C was also assessed. The OBP concentrations remained over time, except for BQD which decreased by 94%. Meanwhile, ozonated CBZ persistently induced embryotoxicity over 2 week storage, potentially illustrating environmental concern.

Humans are exposed to a wide range of electrophilic compounds present in our diet and environment or formed endogenously as part of normal physiological processes. These electrophiles can modify nucleophilic sites of proteins and DNA to form covalent adducts. Recently, powerful untargeted adductomic approaches have been developed for systematic screening of these adducts in human blood. Our earlier untargeted adductomics study detected 19 unknown adducts to N-terminal valine in hemoglobin (Hb) in human blood. We now describe a full characterization of one of these adducts, which corresponds to the addition of a 4-hydroxybenzyl (4-OHBn) group to N-terminal valine in Hb to form N(4-hydroxybenzyl)valine (4-OHBn-Val). The adduct structure was determined by comparison of its accurate mass, HPLC retention time, and MS/MS fragmentation to that of authentic standards prepared by chemical synthesis. Average 4-OHBn-Val adduct concentrations in 12 human blood samples were estimated to 380 +/- 160 pmol/g Hb. Two possible routes of 4-OHBnVal adduct formation are proposed using two different precursor electrophiles: 4-quinone methide (4-QM) and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (4-OHBA). We found that 4-QM reacts rapidly with valine to form the 4-OHBn-Val adduct; however, the quinone methide is unstable under physiological conditions due to hydrolysis. It was shown that 4-OHBA forms reversible Schiff base adducts with valine, which can be stabilized via reduction in blood generating the 4-OHBn-Val adduct. In addition, trace amounts of isomeric 2-hydroxybenzyl-valine (2-OHBn-Val) adducts were detected in 12 human blood samples (estimated mean adduct level, 5.0 +/- 1.4 pmol/g Hb). Further studies are needed to quantify the contributions from identified possible precursor electrophiles to the observed hydroxybenzyl adducts in humans.

Stable adducts to serum albumin (SA) from electrophilic and genotoxic compounds/metabolites can be used as biomarkers for quantification of the corresponding in vivo dose. In the present study, conditions for specific analysis of stable adducts to SA formed from carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were evaluated in order to achieve a sensitive and reproducible quantitative method. Bulky adducts from diolepoxides (DE) of PAH, primarily DE of benzo[a]pyrene (BPDE) and also DE of dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DBPDE) and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DBADE), were used as model compounds. The alkylated peptides obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis of human SA modified with the different PAHDE were principally PAHDE-His-Pro, PAHDE-His-Pro-Tyr and PAHDE-Lys. Alkaline hydrolysis under optimised conditions gave the BPDE-His as the single analyte of alkylated His, but also indicated degradation of this adduct. It was not possible to obtain the BPDE-His as one analyte from BPDE-alkylated SA through modifications of the enzymatic hydrolysis. The BPDE-His adduct was shown to be stable during the weak acidic conditions used in the isolation of SA. Enrichment by HPLC or SPE, but not butanol extraction, gave good recovery, using Protein LoBind tubes. A simple internal standard (IS) approach using SA modified with other PAHDE as IS was shown to be applicable. A robust analytical procedure based on digestion with pronase, enrichment by HPLC or SPE, and analysis with HPLC/MS-MS electrospray ionisation was achieved. A good reproducibility (coefficient of variation (CV) 11 %) was obtained, and the achieved limit of detection for the studied PAHDE, using standard instrumentation, was approximately 1 fmol adduct/mg SA analysing extract from 5 mg SA.

Here, we describe for the first time the synthesis of [S-35] PFOS and [S-35] PFBS with sulfur-35 enriched sulfur dioxide as the radiolabelled reagent, resulting in 2.5 and 2.3 mCi of product, respectively. Basic information concerning the physicochemical properties of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are still limited. Hence, we utilized these radiolabelled perfluoroalkanesulfonates (PFSAs), as well as carbon-14 labelled perfluorooctanoic acid a, ([C-14] PFOA) to determine some basic characteristics of physiological and experimental significance. The solubility of PFOS in buffered aqueous solutions at pH 7.4 was found to be severely reduced in the presence of potassium and sodium ions, which, however, did not reduce the solubility of PFOA or PFBS. PFOS was found to adhere to a small extent to polypropylene and polystyrene, whereas no such adhesion of PFOA or PFBS was detected. The extents of adhesion of PFOS and PFOA to glass were found to be 20% and 10%, respectively. For the first time, the partition coefficients for PFOS, PFBS and PFOA between n-octanol and water were determined experimentally, to be -0.7, -0.3, and 1.4, respectively, reflecting the difference in the amphiphilic natures of these molecules.

Many chemicals in use today lack appropriate documentation on their environmental properties, fate, and effects. To counteract this lack of documentation it is vital to thoroughly investigate a compound's fate in the environment before it comes into use. The present study is describing a novel method for assessing the reduction potential of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), as a part of a project aimed to create an experimental model for determination of chemical persistence. The reductive transformation of 15 PBDE congeners using sodium borohydride was determined. Pseudo-first-order reaction rate constants of the transformations were determined by monitoring the disappearance of the investigated congeners. The reductions lead primarily to formation of lower brominated PBDEs. Each PBDE congener was tested in a total of ten replicates which showed a relative standard deviation of 31% or less. The deca-BDE, BDE-209 was approximately 3 times as prone to reductive transformation as BDE-207. The three nonaBDEs, BDE-206, BDE-207, and BDE-208, showed similar reductive potential. The reactivity of the tested octaBDEs was quite variable, from 5% to 24% of the reactivity of BDE-209 for BDE-196 and BDE-198, respectively. The heptaBDEs studied were in the range of the less reactive octaBDEs, except for BDE-181 which was as high as 13% of the reactivity of BDE-209. The results presented give a method for measuring the propensity of PBDEs, and possibly similar compounds, to undergo reductions. They indicate a potential route to a vital piece of information in the assessment of environmental persistence of chemicals.

Purpose The direct aqueous photolysis of the thyroid hormone levothyroxine (T(4)) has been studied. Methods and Result One of the major photoproducts, i.e., 4-[4-(2-amino-2-carboxy-ethyl)-2,6-diiodo-phenoxy]-penta-2,4-dienoic acid (P1), was isolated by liquid chromatography and structurally assigned by mass spectrometric (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic methods. The identity of a second major product, i.e., 3,5-diiodo-l-thyrosine (P3), was confirmed through access to a commercially available standard. Furthermore, the structures of three additional transformation products are proposed on the basis of data obtained by high-resolution MS analyses. UV absorption spectra were determined for T(4) and the two photoproducts P1 and P3. Disappearance quantum yields were calculated for T(4) (I center dot = 0.014 at pH 12) and P3 (I center dot = 0.024 at pH 12 and I center dot = 0.010 at pH 8.5), whereas the compound P1 was found to be stable under the studied conditions (T(1/2) = 600 min). Conclusion The results indicate that solar UV light may have a significant impact on the fate of T(4) in the aquatic environment.

A method was developed to study reductive transformation of highly brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs). The method development is a part of a broader project where it will be used to determine the susceptibility of environmental pollutants to reductive conditions, in an attempt to create a scheme for determination of chemical’s persistence. This paper focuses on identification of octabrominated diphenyl ether transformation products from reductive debromination of the three nonabrominated diphenyl congeners (nonaBDE), BDE-206, -207 and -208. Sodium borohydride was used to explore the reductive debromination of the nonaBDEs. The transformation products were collected at two time-points and identified products were quantified by GC–MS. The reduction of the nonaBDEs lead primarily to debrominated products, mainly octaBDEs. The three nonabrominated DEs gave isomer-related transformation product patterns. BDE-207 and BDE-208 showed a propensity for ortho-debromination in the initial reaction step, while no discrimination between initial debromination positions was seen for BDE-206. All three nonabrominated DEs displayed a preferred initial debromination on the fully brominated DE ring.

This article addresses the relationship between scientific expertise and policy in European chemicals regulation. We argue that the role of scientific expertise in the European regulation of chemicals varies across decision-making levels, countries, and stages of the policy process. Our case study of the role of scientific expertise in the regulation of brominated flame retardants illustrates considerably different manifestations of this interconnected process across regulatory arenas, even though this case concerns a single group of substances. On the European Union level, we find a mix of technocracy and politicization; in Sweden, a clear-cut politicization; and in Poland, noninvolvement. Such differences can be explained by a combination of factors, in particular frame dominance, and mobilization of advocacy coalitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Review of Policy Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.

An existing substitution reaction method was improved as part of a system to measure the persistency of selected chemicals in the environment by evaluating their chemical reactivity. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), pentachlorobenzene, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene were selected as model compounds. Sodium methoxide in methanol was used as a nucleophile and found to be stable for at least 35 days after preparation. The substitution reaction system was modified so that nitrogen protection was not necessary to avoid oxidation and hydrolysis effects, which led to improved results. The reactivity of polychlorinated benzenes (PCBz), which substituted chlorine for methoxide according to a second-order rate constant, increased as the number of chlorine atoms on the benzene ring increased. HCB was selected as a standard for the k₂ calculations of the substitution reactions. A normalized k₂ (k_N) was calculated as k_N = k_PCBz/k_HCB. GC–MS analysis confirmed that the reactions were pure nucleophilic aromatic substitutions without side reactions.