Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

This thesis is focused on studies on the environmental fate and methodological improvements for determination of the global contaminants, PCBs and DDTs, and locally discharged phenolics, e.g. 4,5,6-trichloroguaiacol (4,5,6-TCG), and their transformation products. 4,5,6-TCG is released from bleached pulp mills, and was chosen as a model substance, to study its fate and effects in aquatic environments. In a brackish water model ecosystem, 4,5,6-TCG was shown to be transformed via demethylation, dechlorination, and methylation reactions. Marine periphyton exposed to 4,5,6-TCG was shown to form demethylated, brominated and dimeric metabolites. Several of these metabolites were identified and quantified. Also more tightly bound chlorophenolics were recovered from the substrate, after harsh extraction procedures had been applied. Conjugates of chlorophenols in fish bile were determined as useful tracers for monitoring effluents from bleached pulp mills, even in areas far from the discharge point. To facilitate calculations of water concentrations, bile to water bioconcentration factors (bBCF-values) were determined for several phenolics, including also alkali-labile chlorocatechols. PCBs and DDTs, were assessed in Swedish lakes with background exposure of these global contaminants. A methodological study focus on the contamination risks of airborne PCBs, during freeze-drying and storage of dry sediment samples. Eutrophication has been proposed to cause lower levels of pollutants in biota in lakes due to biomass dilution but in this thesis examples of higher levels of PCBs in sediment traps, sediment and in perch, and also in higher fluxes of PCBs to the sediment, were observed. Phytoplankton are supposed to be responsible for most of the transport of the contaminants. The composition of DDTs in soil, sediment traps and in dated sediment cores was studied in some detail. PCBs, DDTs, HCB and HCHs were measured in sediments from 100 reference lakes included in the National Swedish Environmental Program. The lakes have a large variation in lake characteristics, representative for different areas in Sweden. A gradient was observed for sPCB with decreasing levels from the south west towards the north. The results suggests that longrange transport is the dominating mechanism for distribution of the contaminants analysed. In this study the levles of PCBs and DDTs were lower in eutrophic lakes than in oligotrophic lakes, in an area with similar atmospheric exposure. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted. Paper 6: Manuscript.</p>

The interaction between three selected representatives of environmental pollutants - naphthalene, anthracene, and 2-aminoanthracene - and DNA was investigated using an electrochemical DNA biosensor based on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and low molecular weight DNA from salmon sperm (DNA/GCE). The interactions with DNA were monitored using square wave voltammetry (SWV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). For naphthalene, there was no DNA damaging interaction observed. In the case of anthracene, the formation of an intercalation complex [DNA-anthracene] was observed. However, its formation does not cause DNA strand breaks. The formation of similar intercalation complex was observed for 2-aminoanthracene [DNA-2-aminoanthracene], where we suppose on the basis of the results obtained that the intercalation of 2-aminoanthracene into the DNA double helix induces a tension and subsequent formation of single-strand breaks, which cause that the fragments of DNA fall away from the electrode surface. The intercalative interaction of DNA with anthracene a 2-aminoanthracene was used in the development of electrochemical methods for determination of these compounds at the GCE and DNA/GCE. At the development of the methods, DC voltammetry (DCV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were used....

Submitted Ph.D. Thesis is focused on the electrochemical characterization and testing of recently developed working electrodes made from pure gold or graphitic carbon particles and electrochemical arrangements. These electrodes are suitable for large screening measurements of various organic compounds. The development of new sensitive voltammetric methods for determination of oxidisable biologically active organic compounds is another aim of this work. To verify its applicability, the array of carbon composite film electrodes integrated in measuring cell system was selected for the development of voltammetric methods for determination of homovanillic acid, vanillylmandelic acid, and indoxyl sulphate. These analytes, which belong to the group of biomarkers of human diseases, were selected for increasing interest in their determination in medical laboratories. Moreover, determination of indoxyl sulphate was coupled to its solid phase extraction from human urine prior to voltammetric determination. Obtained results were compared with measurements of standards with well-established carbon paste electrode. Sputtered (physical vapour deposition method) gold nanostructured film electrodes on treated PTFE substrates and gold nanostructured film electrodes modified with various functional groups on the...

No / Acrylamide is a common dietary exposure that crosses the human placenta. It is classified as a probable human carcinogen, and developmental toxicity has been observed in rodents. OBJECTIVES: We examined the associations between prenatal exposure to acrylamide and birth outcomes in a prospective European mother-child study. METHODS: Hemoglobin (Hb) adducts of acrylamide and its metabolite glycidamide were measured in cord blood (reflecting cumulated exposure in the last months of pregnancy) from 1,101 singleton pregnant women recruited in Denmark, England, Greece, Norway, and Spain during 2006-2010. Maternal diet was estimated through food-frequency questionnaires. RESULTS: Both acrylamide and glycidamide Hb adducts were associated with a statistically significant reduction in birth weight and head circumference. The estimated difference in birth weight for infants in the highest versus lowest quartile of acrylamide Hb adduct levels after adjusting for gestational age and country was -132 g (95% CI: -207, -56); the corresponding difference for head circumference was -0.33 cm (95% CI: -0.61, -0.06). Findings were similar in infants of nonsmokers, were consistent across countries, and remained after adjustment for factors associated with reduced birth weight. Maternal consumption of foods rich in acrylamide, such as fried potatoes, was associated with cord blood acrylamide adduct levels and with reduced birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary exposure to acrylamide was associated with reduced birth weight and head circumference. Consumption of specific foods during pregnancy was associated with higher acrylamide exposure in utero. If confirmed, these findings suggest that dietary intake of acrylamide should be reduced among pregnant women.