Effect of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nicotine on the structure of Aβ42 protein

● B[a]P, nicotine and phenanthrene molecules altered the secondary structure of Aβ₄₂. ● β-content of the peptide was significantly enhanced in the presence of the PAHs. ● Nicotine made stable cluster with Aβ₄₂ peptide via hydrogen bonds. ● Phenanthrene due to its small size, interfered with the Aβ₄₂ monomer more strongly. Recent studies have correlated the chronic impact of ambient environmental pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with the progression of neurodegenerative disorders, either by using statistical data from various cities, or via tracking biomarkers during in-vivo experiments. Among different neurodegenerative disorders, PAHs are known to cause increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, related to the development of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide oligomers. However, the complex molecular interactions between peptide monomers and organic pollutants remains obscured. In this work, we performed an atomistic molecular dynamics study via GROMACS to investigate the structure of Aβ₄₂ peptide monomer in the presence of benzo[a]pyrene, nicotine, and phenanthrene. Interestingly the results revealed strong hydrophobic, and hydrogen-bond based interactions between Aβ peptides and these environmental pollutants that resulted in the formation of stable intermolecular clusters. The strong interactions affected the secondary structure of the Aβ₄₂ peptide in the presence of the organic pollutants, with almost 50 % decrease in the α-helix and 2 %–10 % increase in the β-sheets of the peptide. Overall, the undergoing changes in the secondary structure of the peptide monomer in the presence of the pollutants under the study indicates an enhanced formation of Aβ peptide oligomers, and consequent progression of Alzheimer’s disease.     

气相色谱-串联质谱法测定沉积物中多环芳烃

采用ASE法提取沉积物中16种多环芳烃,以固相萃取法净化提取液,用气相色谱-串联质谱法测定。通过优化测定条件,使方法在5.00μg/L~1 600μg/L范围内线性良好,方法检出限为0.15μg/kg~0.66μg/kg。空白石英砂的加标回收率为61.9%~121%,7次测定结果的RSD为2.6%~11.1%。     

灌河口表层土壤多环芳烃污染调查

为了解灌河口工业区表层土壤中多环芳烃的污染水平及健康风险。于2017年4月份在灌河口化工园区、火力发电厂和钢铁工业园区采集30个表层土壤样品,利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)对16种优控ω(PAH)进行了检测。结果表明,30个采样点16种PAH的ω(T-PAHs)总为1 212.8~12 264.5 ng/g,平均值为3 504.8 ng/g。其中单体PAH以Fl为主,平均比例高达19.4%,其次为Pyr(16.7%)和B[a]P(9.6%)。单体PAH相关性分析表明了污染物来源的一致性,主要来源于本地工业区原油、生物质和煤的燃烧过程。根据加拿大土壤环境质量标准,灌河口工业区87%的土壤PAHs污染超过了安全值,存在潜在的生态风险。     

岩溶环境对多环芳烃迁移转化的影响

从水文地质条件、地貌环境和地球化学环境等3个方面,综述了岩溶环境对多环芳烃(PAHs)迁移转化的影响。针对研究现状及存在的不足,提出了未来可能的研究趋势,包括不同气候条件下发育的岩溶系统的对比研究、不同气候条件和不同岩溶系统快速流和慢速流对PAHs迁移的贡献、碳酸盐岩与PAHs相互作用的机理,以及有机质对PAHs迁移行为的影响。     

西安表土中多环芳烃的污染特征及其来源解析

通过2008年采集西安不同功能区表层土壤样品,运用GC/MS质谱联用仪对美国EPA优控的16种多环芳烃(PAHs)进行定性、定量分析,来探讨西安表层土壤种多环芳烃的污染特征及其来源。结果表明,16种PAHs均被检出,西安表土中ΣPAHs浓度范围为125~9 057 ng/g,平均值为2 727 ng/g,主要以4~6环PAHs为主,共占总量的69%。PAHs的空间分布规律为:工业区>文教区>绿化区>郊区>农村。应用特征比值判断法可知,西安表土中PAHs主要是煤的不完全燃烧和机动车尾气排放所产生的混合源污染。借鉴国外土壤污染标准可知西安城区表土污染较为严重。     

Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Pseudomonas sp. JM2 isolated from active sewage sludge of chemical plant

It is important to screen strains that can decompose polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) completely and rapidly with good adaptability for bioremediation in a local area. A bacterial strain JM2, which uses phenanthrene as its sole carbon source, was isolated from the active sewage sludge from a chemical plant in Jilin, China and identified as Pseudomonas based on 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Although the optimal growth conditions were determined to be pH 6.0 and 37℃, JM2 showed a broad pH and temperature profile. At pH 4.5 and 9.3, JM2 could degrade more than 40% of fluorene and phenanthrene (50 mg/L each) within 4 days. In addition, when the temperature was as low as 4℃, JM2 could degrade up to 24% fluorene and 12% phenanthrene. This showed the potential for JM2 to be applied in bioremediation over winter or in cold regions. Moreover, a nutrient augmentation study showed that adding formate into media could promote PAH degradation, while the supplement of salicylate had an inhibitive effect. Furthermore, in a metabolic pathway study, salicylate, phthalic acid, and 9-fluorenone were detected during the degradation of fluorene or phenanthrene. In conclusion, Pseudomonas sp. JM2 is a high performance strain in the degradation of fluorene and phenanthrene under extreme pH and temperature conditions. It might be useful in the bioremediation of PAHs.     

Evaluation of solubility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ethyl lactate/water versus ethanol/water mixtures for contaminated soil remediation applications

Solubility data of recalcitrant contaminants in cosolvents is essential to determine their potential applications in enhanced soil remediation. The solubilities of phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene in ethyl lactate/water and ethanol/water mixtures were measured using equilibrium techniques. The cosolvency powers derived from solubility data were then applied to the model developed from the solvophobic approach to predict the capability of ethyl lactate and ethanol in enhancing the desorption of contaminants from soils. Both ethyl lactate and ethanol cosolvents were shown to be able to enhance the solubilisation of the tested four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by > 4 orders of magnitude above the levels obtained with water alone. However, ethyl lactate demonstrated a greater capacity to enhance PAH solubility than ethanol. The cosolvency powers of ethyl lactate/water system obtained from the end-to-end slope (σ) and the end-to-half slope (σ_0.5) of the solubilisation curve were 1.0--1.5 and 2.0--2.9 higher than ethanol/water system respectively. In line with this, ethyl lactate/water was demonstrated to enhance the desorption of contaminants from soil by 20%--37% and 18%--61% higher compared to ethanol/water system in low organic content and high organic content soils respectively, with a 2:1 (V/W) ratio of solution:soil and with cosolvent fraction as low as 0.4. With the exception of benzo[a]pyrene, the experimental desorption results agreed fairly with the predicted values, under an applied solution:soil ratio that was enough to hold the capacity of released contaminants.     

泉州市表层土中多环芳烃的含量、来源及其生态风险评价

采集了泉州市不同功能区的33个表层土壤（0～10 cm）样品,利用超高效液相色谱系统（UPLC）-荧光检测器法,研究了土壤中15种优控多环芳烃的含量和分布特征,并利用比值法、因子分析和多元线性回归法对其来源进行了分析,以及采用苯并（a）芘的毒性当量浓度（TEQBaP）评价了土壤中PAHs的生态风险.结果表明,土壤中15...     

还原-ZPF催化氧化降解2,4-DNT效果及其机制

以实验室制备的α-FeOOH柱撑人造沸石（zeotileartificial pillared byα-FeOOH,ZPF）为催化剂,并利用FTIR与XRD技术进行表征,采用批式实验研究其催化H2O2氧化去除地下水中难降解有机污染物2,4-二硝基甲苯（2,4-DNT）的效能,对比分析不同pH条件下Fe0还原、ZPF催化...     

闽江福州段沉积物中多环芳烃的分布、来源及其生态风险

对闽江福州段37个沉积物样品中的15种多环芳烃(PAHs)进行了研究.结果表明,15种PAHs的总量在241.5～1310.8ng·g-1之间,均值为630.9ng·g-1,且从上游到下游整体上呈下降的趋势,但在福州市区附近有突增的现象.沉积物中有机质含量(SOM)与PAHs总量呈显著正相关(r=0.58,p<0.01).同时,应用因子分析和多元线性回归方法对PAHs进行了源解析.结果表明,煤燃烧来源占31.7%,汽油燃烧占25.2%,柴油燃烧占28.7%,石油泄漏源占14.5%,石油燃烧是闽江福州段沉积物中PAHs的主要来源.用效应区间中值ERM(the effects range median)和效应区间低值ERL(the effects range low)及其商值平均方法对闽江福州段沉积物中PAHs的生态风险进行了评价.结果表明,有4个样品芴的含量超过ERL指导值(19ng·g-1),具有一定的生态风险,其余PAH单体和PAHs总量都不超标.