Presence of organophosphate flame retardants (OPEs) in different functional areas in residential homes in Beijing, China

The production and application of organophosphate esters (OPEs) have dramatically increased in recent years due to their use as a replacement for brominated flame retardants. In this study, 13 OPEs (Σ₁₃OPEs) were analyzed in indoor air samples from kitchens and living rooms in 14 residential homes in Beijing, China. The concentrations of Σ₁₃OPEs in kitchen air samples (mean: 13 ng/m³) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in living room air samples (5.0 ng/m³). In addition, paired window surface organic film samples were collected and analyzed to investigate film-air partitioning, exhibiting a mean concentration of Σ₁₃OPEs of 4100 ng/m². The congener profiles showed that tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) was the predominant compound in both window film samples (48%) and the corresponding indoor air sample (56%). The estimated daily intakes (EDI) of OPEs via indoor air inhalation were 2.8 and 1.4 ng/kg/day for infants and adults, respectively, both of which are below the reference dose values (RfDs). Overall, these findings indicate that OPEs in the indoor air environment of residential homes in Beijing are not likely to pose a health risk to the general population.     

Evaluating the blank contamination and recovery of sample pretreatment procedures for analyzing organophosphorus flame retardants in waters

Organophosphate esters (OPEs), used as flame retardants and plasticizers, are widely present in environmental waters. Development of accurate determination methods for trace OPEs in water is urgent for understanding the fate and risk of this class of emerging pollutants. However, the wide use of OPEs in experimental materials results in blank interference, which influences the accuracy of analytical results. In the present work, blank contamination and recovery of pretreatment procedures for analysis of OPEs in water samples were systematically examined for the first time. Blank contaminations were observed in filtration membranes, glass bottles, solid phase extraction cartridges, and nitrogen blowing instruments. These contaminations could be as high as 6.4–64 ng/L per treatment. Different kinds of membranes were compared in terms of contamination levels left after common glassware cleaning, and a special wash procedure was proposed to eliminate the contamination from membranes. Meanwhile, adsorption of highly hydrophobic OPEs on the inside wall of glass bottles was found to be 42.4%–86.1%, which was the primary cause of low recoveries and was significantly reduced by an additional washing step with acetonitrile. This work is expected to provide guidelines for the establishment of analysis methods for OPEs in aqueous samples.     

Effect of coumaphos on cholinesterase activity,hematology, and biochemical blood parameters of bovines in tropical regions of Mexico

To assess the effect of coumaphos [O-(3-chloro-4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-1-benzopyran-7-yl) O,O-diethyl phosphorothioate] exposure on physiological responses during bovine production, acetylcolinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activities were measured in whole blood, erythrocytes, and plasma of healthy male steers (Bos Taurus x Bos indicus) sprayed with coumaphos at a non-lethal dose of 1 mg kg^{? 1} body weight per day once every 14 (in vivo group) or 21 days (southern and central groups). Coumaphos topically administered at 1 mg/kg body weight per day to cattle under normal management practices in tropical areas produced a significant inhibition in erythrocyte (RBC) AChE and BuAChE activities when compared to baseline levels. RBC-AChE activity for the in vivo group decreased 71.3% (P < 0.05) and BuChE activity 59.1% (P < 0.05); RBC-AChE activity decreased 55.1% (P < 0.05) (southern group) and 43.4% (P < 0.05) (central group). Compared to the control specimens, steers from in vivo, southern, and central groups after 150 days of exposure had lower (P < 0.05) leukocyte count, absolute lymphocyte, erythrocyte, and platelet counts. Decreases in RBC-AChE activities correlated with decreased lymphocyte (r = 1.000, p = 0.01), erythrocyte (r = 1.000, p = 0.003), and platelet counts (r = 0.841, p = 0.036). Significantly increased BUN levels (P < 0.05) correlated with the decrease in RBC-AChE activities (r = ? 0.997, p = 0.047) and with the decrease in absolute red blood cell (r = ? 0.883, p = 0.020) and lymphocyte (r = ? 0.825, p = 0.043) counts; increased (P < 0.05) total plasma protein levels correlated with the decrease in RBC-AChE activities (r = ?0.998, p = 0.043), absolute red blood cell (r = ? 0.998, p = 0.040), lymphocyte (r = ? 0.893, p = 0.017), and platelet (r = -0.855, p = 0.030) counts. The physiological responses correlated with the erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase inhibition could be considered as early indicators or warning responses of bovine exposures to organophosphorus pesticides (OPs).     

Identification of impurities in technical monocrotophos

A number of impurities present in technical monocrotophos (76%) were isolated by column chromatography and structures were assigned by GC‐MS analysis.     

Layer—By—Layer技术构建化学传感器酶电极检测水体中有机磷的研究

基于层层累积自组装法将胆碱氧化酶和胆碱酯酶逐层固定在电极表面,制备了电流型水质有机磷检测化学传感器。讨论了自组装膜层数、pH值、温度对传感器电流响应的影响。制备的化学传感器对有机磷在浓度10^-9～10^-5mol／L呈良好的线性响应,检出限为1×10^-10mol／L。传感器的稳定性好,30天时的响应值仍保持90％。     

太滆运河表层沉积物中的酞酸酯类增塑剂和溴系、有机磷系阻燃剂残留特征初探

分别采用微波萃取-气相色谱/质谱法、加速溶剂萃取提取-液相色谱/质谱法对采自太滆运河5个沉积物样品中的6种邻苯二甲酸酯类(PAEs)、13种多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)和9种有机磷酸酯(OPEs)的质量比及分布进行研究。结果表明,所有样品中均检测到PAEs、PBDEs和OPEs(以总量计),其总质量比分别为1.99~6.90μg/g,47~572和17.1~69.7 ng/g;十溴联苯醚(BDE-209)和磷酸三异辛酯(TEHP)分别是质量比最高的PBDEs和OPEs;对于PAEs,入太湖点位处邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己基)酯(DEHP)质量比较高,其余点位则是邻苯二甲酸二正丁酯(DBP)质量比较高;ω(PAEs)、ω(PBDEs)和ω(OPEs)两两间线性相关性较好,指示其来源相同;下游沉积物中污染物的质量比均高于上游,沿岸生产、生活中增塑剂和阻燃剂对太湖的污染应引起更多关注。     

Sorption of aromatic organophosphate flame retardants on thermally and hydrothermally produced biochars

• TPhP showed faster and higher sorption on biochars than TPPO. • Pyrochars had higher sorption capacity for TPPO than hydrochar. • Hydrophobic interactions dominated TPhP sorption by biochars. • The π-π EDA and electrostatic interactions are involved in sorption. Aromatic organophosphate flame retardant (OPFR) pollutants and biochars are commonly present and continually released into soils due to their increasingly wide applications. In this study, for the first time, the sorption of OPFRs on biochars was investigated. Although triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) and triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) have similar molecular structures and sizes, TPhP exhibited much faster and higher sorption than TPPO due to its stronger hydrophobicity, suggesting the dominant role of hydrophobic interactions in TPhP sorption. The π-π electron donor–acceptor (EDA) interactions also contributed to the sorption process, as suggested by the negative correlation between the sorption capacity of the aromatic OPFRs and the aromatic index (H/C atomic ratios) of biochar. Density functional theory calculations further showed that one benzene ring of aromatic OPFRs has no electrons, which may interact with biochar via π-π EDA interactions. The electrostatic attraction between the protonated P = O in OPFRs and the negatively charged biochar was found to occur at pH below 7. This work provides insights into the sorption behaviors and mechanisms of aromatic OPFRs by biochars.     

Toxicological mass disaster management - a hospital deployment scheme

Toxicological mass disasters have occurred frequently in past years and constitute a permanent threat in urban areas. From the standpoint of hospital planning, special consideration is required to treat a large number of poisoned casualties in a relatively short period. Several unique medical aspects characterize toxicological mass disasters: casualties present a single disease entity with many "borderline" cases, most medical personnel are unfamiliar with the problem and casualties present a potential contamination hazard to the hospital. A hospital deployment scheme is presented recommending Decontamination, Triage and simple Treatment Algorithms to meet the medical and organizational challenge of such a mass casualty situation. A further specific deployment scheme for treatment of organophosphorus agents poisoning is described to illustrate the principles presented.     

毛细管胶束电动色谱柱端安培检测对氧磷、甲基对硫磷、乙基对硫磷、扑灭松

用毛细管胶束电动色谱柱端安培检测的方法对对氧磷、甲基对硫磷、乙基对硫磷、扑灭松等四种常见有机磷农药进行了分离检测,对缓冲液种类、离子浓度、pH值、胶束浓度、电极的检测电势等检测条件进行了最佳优化。结果表明,此方法对四种农药的质量检测限较气相色谱法低3～4个数量级,并将用于地表水样品的检测。     

In vitro assessment of thyroid hormone receptor activity of four organophosphate esters

Previous animal experiments have implied that organophosphate esters(OPEs) have a disruption effect on the thyroid endocrine system. However, knowledge of the toxicological mechanism remains limited. In this study, the activities of four OPEs have been characterized against the thyroid hormone(TH) nuclear receptor(TR) using two in vitro models, with the aim of evaluating their toxicity mechanisms towards the TR. The results of a TH-dependent cell proliferation assay showed that tris(2-chloro-1-(chloromethyl)ethyl)phosphate(TDCPP) could induce cell growth, while the other three OPEs had no effect. The results of a luciferase reporter gene assay revealed that all four of the OPEs tested in the current study showed agonistic activity towards TRβ, with TDCPP being the most potent one. Moreover, molecular docking revealed that all the tested OPEs could fit into the ligand binding pocket of TRβ, with TDCPP binding more effectively than the other three OPEs. Taken together, these data suggest that OPEs might disrupt the thyroid endocrine system via a mechanism involving the activation of TR.