Evaluation of extraction methods for quantification of aqueous fullerenes in urine

There is a growing concern about the human and environmental health effects of fullerenes (e.g., C(60)) due to their increasing application in research, medicine, and industry. Toxicological and pharmacokinetic research requires standard methods for extraction and detection of fullerenes from biological matrices such as urine. The present study validates the use of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods in conjunction with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for the quantitative determination of C(60) in human and synthetic urine as compared with ultrapure water. Glacial acetic acid, which is necessary to prevent emulsions during LLE, inhibited C(60) detection by LC-MS, but this could be mitigated with evaporation. Aqueous C(60) aggregates (nC(60)) were spiked at 180 μg/L into the components of a synthetic urine recipe to determine their individual impacts on extraction and detection. Urea, creatinine, and a complex protein (i.e., gelatin) were found to impair SPE, leading to a low recovery rate of 43 ± 4% for C(60) spiked into human urine. In contrast, C(60) was consistently recovered from synthetic matrices using LLE, and recovery in human urine was 80 ± 6%. These results suggest that LLE combined with LC-MS is suitable for studying the clearance of fullerenes from the body. LLE is a robust technique that holds promise for extracting C(60) from other complex biological matrices (e.g., blood, sweat, amniotic fluid) in toxicological studies, enabling a better understanding of the behavior of fullerenes in human and animal systems and facilitating a more comprehensive risk evaluation of fullerenes.     

Tests dʼadéquation à la mesure de Haar,identité de duplication de Watson et représentations dʼun groupe compact

We use the theory of compact groups representations in building goodness-of-fit tests for the Haar probability measure. An interpretation of a duplication identity already known for the celebrated circular test of G. Watson is given in terms of representation theory.     

Sur une identité en loi entre deux fonctionnelles quadratiques du pont brownien

In this Note we give an elementary proof of a well-known identity in law involving quadratic functionals of the Brownian bridge. To cite this article: J.-R. Pycke, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 340 (2005).     

Beyond nC60: strategies for identification of transformation products of fullerene oxidation in aquatic and biological samples

Owing to their exceptional properties and versatility, fullerenes are in widespread use for numerous applications. Increased production and use of fullerenes will inevitably result in accelerated environmental release. However, study of the occurrence, fate, and transport of fullerenes in the environment is complicated because a variety of surface modifications can occur as a result of either intentional functionalization or natural processes. To gain a better understanding of the effect and risk of fullerenes on environmental health, it is necessary to acquire reliable data on the parent compounds and their congeners. Whereas currently established quantification methods generally focus on analysis of unmodified fullerenes, we discuss in this review the occurrence and analysis of oxidized fullerene congeners (i.e., their corresponding epoxides and polyhydroxylated derivatives) in the environment and in biological specimens. We present possible strategies for detection and quantification of parent nanomaterials and their various derivatives.     

Des statistiques liées à la fonction de Green du laplacien

In this Note, we show that an invariant test of uniformity for a sample from a compact 2-point homogeneous space can be based on the Green function of the Laplacian. The three celebrated Watson, Cramér–von-Mises and Anderson–Darling statistics are shown to be particular cases of this family of statistics. To cite this article: J.-R. Pycke, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 341 (2005).     

A decomposition for invariant tests of uniformity on the sphere

We introduce a -statistic on which can be based a test for uniformity on the sphere. It is a simple function of the geometric mean of distances between points of the sample and consistent against all alternatives. We show that this type of -statistic, whose kernel is invariant by isometries, can be separated into a set of statistics whose limiting random variables are independent. This decomposition is obtained via the so-called canonical decomposition of a group representation. The distribution of the limiting random variables of the components under the null hypothesis is given. We propose an interpretation of Watson type identities between quadratic functionals of Gaussian processes in the light of this decomposition.

     

Strategies for quantifying C(60) fullerenes in environmental and biological samples and implications for studies in environmental health and ecotoxicology

Fullerenes are sphere-like molecules with unique physico-chemical properties, which render them of particular interest in biomedical research, consumer products and industrial applications. Human and environmental exposure to fullerenes is not a new phenomenon, due to a long history of hydrocarbon-combustion sources, and will only increase in the future, as incorporation of fullerenes into consumer products becomes more widespread for use as anti-aging, anti-bacterial or anti-apoptotic agents.An essential step in the determination of biological effects of fullerenes (and their surface-functionalized derivatives) is establishment of exposure-assessment techniques. However, in ecotoxicological studies, quantification of fullerenes is performed infrequently because robust, uniformly applicable analytical approaches have yet to be identified, due to the wide variety of sample types. Moreover, the unique physico-chemistry of fullerenes in aqueous matrices requires reassessment of conventional analytical approaches, especially in more complex biological matrices (e.g., urine, blood, plasma, milk, and tissue).Here, we present a review of current analytical approaches for the quantification of fullerenes and propose a consensus approach for determination of these nanomaterials in a variety of environmental and biological matrices.