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- Alves, Andreia, et al.
(author)
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Case Study on Screening Emerging Pollutants in Urine and Nails
- 2017
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In: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 51:7, s. 4046-4053
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alternative plasticizers and flame retardants (FRs) have been introduced as replacements for banned or restricted chemicals, but much is still unknown about their metabolism and occurrence in humans. We identified the metabolites formed in vitro for four alternative plasticizers (acetyltributyl citrate (ATBC), bis(2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHTP), bis(2ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA)), and one FR (2,2-bis (chloromethyl)-propane-1,3-diyltetrakis(2-chloroethyl) bisphosphate (V6)). Further, these compounds and their metabolites were investigated by LC/ESI-Orbitrap-MS in urine and finger nails collected from a Norwegian cohort. Primary and secondary ATBC metabolites had detection frequencies (% DF) in finger nails ranging from 46 to 95%. V6 was identified for the first time in finger nails, suggesting that this matrix may also indicate past exposure to FRs as well as alternative plasticizers. Two isomeric forms of DEHTP primary metabolite were highly detected in urine (97% DF) and identified in finger nails, while no DPHP metabolites were detected in vivo. Primary and secondary DEHA metabolites were identified in both matrices, and the relative proportion of the secondary metabolites was higher in urine than in finger nails; the opposite was observed for the primary metabolites. As many of the metabolites present in in vitro extracts were further identified in vivo in urine and finger nail samples, this suggests that in vitro assays can reliably mimic the in vivo processes. Finger nails may be a useful noninvasive matrix for human biomonitoring of specific organic contaminants, but further validation is needed.
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2. |
- Ekström, Sanna, et al.
(author)
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Of Bacteria and clouds: when microbial substances trigger cloud formation in Earth’s atmosphere
- 2008
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In: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2008.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This presentation reports the discovery that substances produced by microorganisms might trigger the formation of cloud in the atmosphere, at least under certain conditions.The Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) efficiency of substances produced by microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, micro-algae …) that are common at Earth’s surface and in the oceans were studied. Their Köhler curves were determined experimentally by surface tension and osmometry measurements and found to have much lower critical supersaturations than any material studied so far, including inorganic salts.The presence of these substances was evidenced in aerosols from four different origins (coastal, marine, temperate forest, and Amazonian forest) by LC/MS/MS analyses and by their unique signature on the surface tension. These substances lowered the surface tension of the aerosols below 40 mN/m, allowing them to be activated into cloud droplets before inorganic particles.Microorganisms would thus be able to control cloud formation in Earth’s atmosphere under certain conditions. This would explain many previous observations such as correlations between algae bloom and cloud cover. Most importantly, this work identifies a potentially important component of Earth’s hydrological cycle and a new direct link between biosphere and climate.
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3. |
- Rostkowski, Pawel, et al.
(author)
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The strength in numbers : comprehensive characterization of house dust using complementary mass spectrometric techniques
- 2019
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In: Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1618-2642 .- 1618-2650. ; 411:10, s. 1957-1977
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Untargeted analysis of a composite house dust sample has been performed as part of a collaborative effort to evaluate the progress in the field of suspect and nontarget screening and build an extensive database of organic indoor environment contaminants. Twenty-one participants reported results that were curated by the organizers of the collaborative trial. In total, nearly 2350 compounds were identified (18%) or tentatively identified (25% at confidence level 2 and 58% at confidence level 3), making the collaborative trial a success. However, a relatively small share (37%) of all compounds were reported by more than one participant, which shows that there is plenty of room for improvement in the field of suspect and nontarget screening. An even a smaller share (5%) of the total number of compounds were detected using both liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thus, the two MS techniques are highly complementary. Most of the compounds were detected using LC with electrospray ionization (ESI) MS and comprehensive 2D GC (GCxGC) with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electron ionization (EI), respectively. Collectively, the three techniques accounted for more than 75% of the reported compounds. Glycols, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and various biogenic compounds dominated among the compounds reported by LC-MS participants, while hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon derivatives, and chlorinated paraffins and chlorinated biphenyls were primarily reported by GC-MS participants. Plastics additives, flavor and fragrances, and personal care products were reported by both LC-MS and GC-MS participants. It was concluded that the use of multiple analytical techniques was required for a comprehensive characterization of house dust contaminants. Further, several recommendations are given for improved suspect and nontarget screening of house dust and other indoor environment samples, including the use of open-source data processing tools. One of the tools allowed provisional identification of almost 500 compounds that had not been reported by participants.
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