Quantitative prediction of biodegradability,metabolite distribution and toxicity of stable metabolites

An evaluation of the capability of organic chemicals to mineralize is an important factor to consider when assessing their fate in the environment. Microbial degradation can convert a toxic chemical into an innocuous one, and vice versa , or alter the toxicity of a chemical. Moreover, primary biodegradation can convert chemicals into stable products that can be difficult to mineralize. In this paper, we present some new results obtained on the basis of a recently developed probabilistic approach to modeling biodegradation based on microbial transformation pathways. The metabolic transformations and their hierarchy were calibrated by making use of the ready biodegradability data from the MITI-I test and expert knowledge for the most probable transformation pathways. A model was developed and integrated into an expert software system named CATABOL that is able to predict the probability of biodegradation of organic chemicals directly from their structure. CATABOL simulates the effects of microbial enzyme systems, generates the most plausible transformation pathways, and quantitatively predicts the persistence and toxicity of the biodegradation products. A subset of 300 organic chemicals were selected from Canada's Domestic Substances List and subjected to CATABOL to compare predicted properties of the parent chemicals with their respective first stable metabolite. The results show that most of the stable metabolites have a lower acute toxicity to fish and a lower bioaccumulation potential compared to the parent chemicals. In contrast, the metabolites appear to be generally more estrogenic than the parent chemicals.     

标准差标准化方法修正的PBBs多效应3D-QSAR模型及其在环境友好性分子修饰中的应用

构建了标准差标准化方法修正的兼具多溴联苯(PBBs)分子红外振动强度、 生物富集性和毒性3种效应的CoMFA模型, 分析了PBBs分子力场对其综合值的影响, 确定取代位点, 并进行兼具易红外光谱检出、 低生物富集性和毒性特征的PBB分子修饰(以PBB-153为例). 研究结果表明, 构建的CoMFA模型对PBBs分子的红外振动强度、 生物富集性和毒性3种效应综合值具有较好的预测和拟合能力, 且具有较好的稳定性, 静电场和立体场的贡献率分别为59.9%和40.1%. 根据模型三维等势图选择正电性高于Br原子的5种取代基团对目标分子PBB-153进行单、 双取代, 筛选出6个3种效应综合值上升的PBB-153衍生物. PBBs衍生物分子单效应计算或预测结果验证表明所构建的兼具PBBs分子红外振动强度、 生物富集性和毒性3种效应综合值的CoMFA模型可以有效应用于PBBs分子的修饰. 设计的PBB-153衍生物分子具有较好的稳定性, 同时阻燃性与目标分子相当, 环境持久性及迁移性方面优于目标分子. 2D-QSAR模型表明, PBBs分子的偶极矩、 最负电荷及邻位Br原子数对其红外振动强度、 生物富集性和毒性单效应和综合值影响趋势一致.     

有机污染物的生物富集因子与拓扑指数的数学模型

依据价连接性指数(xi)、电性拓扑态指数(ej)及电性距离矢量(mk)构建239种有机污染物生物富集因子(FBC)的6参数QSFR(定量结构-生物富集因子相关性)模型, 不仅相关程度高, 而且所用自变量数少. 该模型的传统相关系数(R2)为0.821, LOO(levae-one-out)交互验证系数(Q2)为0.809, 证明具有良好的稳健性及预测能力. 根据进入该模型的6个参数可知, 影响有机污染物FBC的主要结构基团是: —C—、>C—、—O—、—X、—NH2以及分子的柔韧性、折叠程度等空间因素. 可以认为在生物富集过程中,“诱导契合机理”也发挥一定作用. 对自变量集进行正交变换, 既不影响模型的相关性, 又能降低其自相关性.     

Perchlorate in seawater: bioconcentration of iodide and perchlorate by various seaweed species

There has been no reliable published data on the presence of perchlorate in seawater. Seaweeds are among the most important plant life in the ocean and are good sources of iodine and have been widely used as food and nutritional supplement. Perchlorate is known to inhibit the transport of iodide by the sodium iodide symporter (NIS), present e.g., in the thyroid and mammary glands. With perchlorate being increasingly detected in drinking water, milk and various other foods, increasing the iodide intake through inexpensive natural supplements may be an attractive solution for maintaining iodine assimilation. We report here measurable concentrations of perchlorate in several samples of seawater (detectable in about half the samples analyzed). We also report the iodide and perchlorate concentrations of 11 different species of seaweed and the corresponding bioconcentration factors (BCF) for perchlorate and iodide, relative to the seawater from which they were harvested. All seaweed samples came from the same region, off the coast of Northeastern Maine. Concentrations of iodide and perchlorate in four seawater samples collected from the region near harvest time were 30 ± 11 and 0.16 ± 0.084 μg l⁻¹, respectively. Concentrations of both iodide and perchlorate varied over a wide range for different seaweed species; iodide ranging from 16 to 3134 mg kg⁻¹ and perchlorate from 0.077 to 3.2 mg kg⁻¹. The Laminaria species had the highest iodide concentration; Laminaria digitata is the seaweed species most commonly used in the kelp tablets sold in health food stores. Our sample of L. digitata contained 3134 ± 15 mg iodide/kg dry weight. The BCF varied widely for different species, with Laminaria species concentrating iodide preferentially over perchlorate. The iodide BCF (BCF_i) to perchlorate BCF (BCF_p) quotient ranged from 0.66 to 53; L. digitata and L. saccarina having a BCF_i/BCF_p value of 45 and 53, respectively, far greater than a simple anion exchange process will allow. Although most seaweed samples contain some amount of perchlorate, the great majority contains iodide in so much higher amount that at least for the commonly used Laminaria species, the iodide/perchlorate ratio is greater than the square of the perchlorate to iodide selectivity factor reported for the mammalian NIS and should thus lead to net beneficial iodine nutrition even in a two-stage mother-infant scenario.     

Uptake of lead and arsenic in food plants grown in contaminated soil from Barber Orchard, NC

Elevated levels of heavy metals in soil may allow uptake of these toxic species in food plants. Barber Orchard, Haywood County, NC has been designated a U.S. EPA Superfund site, primarily because of elevated levels of lead and arsenic. In this work, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes were cultivated in a greenhouse in control soil and soil obtained from Barber Orchard. The resulting samples were then analyzed for lead and arsenic using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Except for carrot roots grown in the contaminated soil, the concentrations of lead and arsenic in the plants were below the ICP-OES detection limit. The concentration of lead in carrot roots was 20 ± 11 μg/g, which represents a bioconcentration factor (BCF) of 0.03.     

QSARs for identifying and prioritizing substances with persistence and bioconcentration potential

From the 8511 chemicals with 1998 production volumes reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the TSCA Interagency Testing Committee's (ITC's) Degradation Effects Bioconcentration Information Testing Strategies (DEBITS) was used to identify 56 chemicals. The DEBITS Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSARs) and the U.S. EPA's PBT profiler QSARs were used to predict the persistence and bioconcentration factors of these 56 chemicals. Partial order ranking was used to prioritise the chemicals based on persistence and bioconcentration potential.     

Non-linear modeling of bioconcentration using partition coefficients for narcotic chemicals

Bioconcentration factors (BCFs) have traditionally been used to describe the tendency of chemicals to concentrate in aquatic organisms. A reexamination of the log-log QSAR between the BCF and K OW for non-congener narcotic chemicals is presented on the basis of recommended data for fish. The model is extended to give a simple correlation between BCF and the toxicity of highly, moderately and weakly hydrophilic chemicals. For the first time, in this study an equation for calculating BCF was applied in a QSAR model for predicting the acute toxicity of chemicals to aquatic organisms.     

云南省不同产地茯苓菌核中汞元素含量研究

茯苓菌核在亚洲具有悠久的药用历史,也是北京传统小吃“茯苓夹饼”原材料。研究旨在测量和评价中国云南地区茯苓菌核的总汞含量。与其他种类蘑菇子实体相比,茯苓菌核汞含量较低。汞含量(干物质)的范围为0.0041~0.019 mg·kg-1,中位数为0.011 mg·kg-1,总体平均值为(0.011±0.004)mg·kg-1,表明云南不同产地茯苓菌核中 Hg含量受到复杂山地类型的影响较大。对每天食用含有50 g 茯苓菌核的茯苓夹饼 Hg摄入量进行健康评估,人均每天Hg摄入量为0.0000034~0.000016 mg·kg-1,按成人体重60 kg计算,人均每天 Hg摄入量为0.0000092~0.00055 mg。研究结果显示,茯苓菌核中 Hg元素含量较低,其摄入量低于健康限量标准。同时,煎煮后的茯苓菌核中 Hg摄入量也低于健康限量标准,由茯苓菌核制成的茯苓夹饼 Hg含量较低。