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Liu R, Yang R, Jiang Q, Shao B. Fluorinated liquid-crystal monomers in infant formulas and implication for health risk. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2024; 358:124502. [PMID: 38964644 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 06/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Fluorinated liquid-crystal monomers (FLCMs), a new class of potential persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) emerging pollutants, are extensively utilized in the display panel of various electronic devices. These compounds have been found in various environmental matrixes and dietary. Our previous studies have documented their ubiquitous occurrence in high fat foodstuffs. Infants, a vulnerable group, are more susceptible to the impacts of these pollutants compared to adults. Herein, we provided an assessment of the health risks posed by FLCMs to infants, focusing on their exposure through infant formula. The presence of FLCMs was detected in all infant formulas, with median concentration of 16.5 ng/g dry weight (dw) and the 95th percentile concentration of 65.7 ng/g dw. The most prevalent pollutant in these formulas was 2-fluoro-4-[4'-propyl-1,1'-bi(cyclohexyl)-4-yl] phenyl trifluoromethyl ether (FPrBP), with median and a 95th percentile concentration of 12.2 ng/g dw and 23.8 ng/g dw, accounting for 55.2% to the total FLCMs. Infants aged 0-6 months had the highest estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of FLCMs, with the EDImedian of 267 ng/kg bw/day. FPrBP and 4-[trans-4-(trans-4-Propylcyclohexyl) cyclohexyl]-1-trifluoromethoxybenzene (PCTB) together made up 83.3% of the total EDIs in median exposure scenario of 0-6 months infant. The highest EDI value was 1.30 × 103 ng/kg bw/day, 77.1% of which was attributed to a combination of FPrBP, 4″-ethyl-2'-fluoro-4-propyl-1,1':4',1″-terphenyl (EFPT), 2-[4'-[difluoro(3,4,5-trifluoro-2-methyl-phenoxy)methyl]-3',5'-difluoro-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl]-5-ethyl-tetrahydro-pyran (DTMPMDP), 4-[Difluoro-(3,4,5-trifluoro-2-methyl-phenoxy)-methyl]-3,5-difluoro-4'-propyl-1,1-biphenyl (DTMPMDB), 2,3-difluoro-1-methyl-4-[(trans, trans)-4'-pentyl[1,1'-bicyclohexyl]-4-yl]benzene (DMPBB) and PCTB. It's worth noting that FLCMs have higher exposure risk. Based on the threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) method, the EDImedian of FPrBP (183 ng/kg bw/day) and FPCB (3.27 ng/kg bw/day) were beyond their TTC values (2.5 ng/kg bw/day) in 0-6 months infant, implying their prospective health risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runqing Liu
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Runhui Yang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Qian Jiang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Bing Shao
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China; Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan, Luohe 462300, China.
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Xie JF, Gu JY, Li LZ, Guo Y, Liu LY. First report on liquid crystal monomers in tree barks surrounding a display manufacturer: Insights for atmospheric transport and establishment of priority list. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 477:135372. [PMID: 39106723 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2024] [Revised: 07/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024]
Abstract
Tree bark has been proven as an effective passive air sampler, particularly where access to active sampling methods is limited. In this study, 60 target liquid crystal monomers (LCMs; comprising 10 cyanobiphenyl and analogs (CBAs), 13 biphenyl and analogs (BAs), and 37 fluorinated biphenyl and analogs (FBAs)) were analyzed in 34 tree barks collected from the vicinity of a liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturer situated in the Pearl River Delta, South China. The concentrations of LCMs in tree barks ranged from 1400 to 16000 ng/g lipid weight, with an average of 5900 ng/g lipid weight. Generally, bark levels of BAs exponentially decreased within 5 km of the LCD manufacturer. The profiles of LCMs in tree barks are similar to previously reported patterns in gaseous phase, suggesting bark's efficacy as a sampler for gaseous LCMs. The inclusion of different congeners in existing studies on the environmental occurrence of LCMs has hindered the horizontal comparisons. Therefore, this study established a list of priority LCMs based on environmental monitoring data and the publicly accessible production data. This list comprised 146 LCMs, including 63 REACH registered LCMs that haven't been analyzed in any study and 56 belonging to 4 types of mainstream LCMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiong-Feng Xie
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Scholl of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
| | - Jia-Yi Gu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Scholl of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
| | - Liang-Zhong Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of High-Quality Recycling of End-of-Life New Energy Devices, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Ying Guo
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Scholl of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
| | - Liang-Ying Liu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Scholl of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China.
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Yang Y, Jiang X, Yang Y, Wang J, Zhao Y, Lin S, Qu J, Martyniuk CJ, Zhao Y, Li C. Photochemical transformation of liquid crystal monomers in simulated environmental media: Kinetics, mechanism, toxicity variation and QSAR modeling. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 261:122062. [PMID: 39002419 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.122062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2024] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are a new class of emerging pollutants with high octanol-water partition coefficients; however, their transformation behavior and associated risk to environments with high organic matter content has rarely been reported. In this study, we investigated the photodegradation kinetics, mechanism, and toxicity variation of 23 LCMs on leaf wax models (e.g., organic solvents methanol and n-hexane). The order of the photolysis rates of these LCMs were biphenylethyne LCMs > phenylbenzoate LCMs > diphenyl/terphenyl LCMs under simulated sunlight, while the phenylcyclohexane LCMs were resistant to photodegradation. The phenylbenzoate and biphenylethyne LCMs mainly undergo direct photolysis, while the diphenyl/terphenyl LCMs mainly undergo self-sensitized photolysis. The main photolysis pathways are the cleavage of ester bonds for phenylbenzoate LCMs, the addition, oxidation and cleavage of alkynyl groups for biphenylethyne LCMs, and the cleavage/oxidation of chains attached to phenyls and the benzene ring opening for diphenyl/terphenyls LCMs. Most photolysis products remained toxic to aquatic organisms to some degree. Additionally, two quantitative structure-activity relationship models for predicting kobs of LCMs in methanol and n-hexane were developed, and employed to predict kobs of 93 LCMs to fill the kobs data gap in systems mimicking leaf surfaces. These results can be helpful for evaluating the fate and risk of LCMs in environments with high content of organic phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yandong Yang
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Xiangkun Jiang
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Jia Wang
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Yahui Zhao
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Shanshan Lin
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Jiao Qu
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Christopher J Martyniuk
- Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, UF Genetics Institute, Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Yuanhui Zhao
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Chao Li
- Engineering Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China.
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Zhang Y, Tang D, Wu Y, Huang X. One-pot fabrication of task specific magnetic adsorbent for the efficient isolation and capture of liquid-crystal monomers pollutants in waters prior to chromatographic quantification. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1319:342967. [PMID: 39122288 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2024] [Revised: 07/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) have been classified as emerging organic pollutants. Efficient isolation and extraction is a critical step in the determination, and then knowing the occurrence and distribution of LCMs in environmental waters. However, the reported sample preparation techniques still suffer some dilemmas such as using large amount of organic solvent, low extraction capacity, tedious operation procedure and employment of expensive extraction column. To circumvent the disadvantages, new extraction format and adsorbent with quickness, less consumption of organic solvent, superior extraction performance and low cost should be developed for the analysis of LCMs. RESULTS Using 1H,1H,2H,2H-heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate and 9-vinylanthracene as mixed functional monomers, a task specific magnetic adsorbent (TSMA) was prepared by one-pot hydrothermal technique for the highly efficient capture of LCMs under magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) format. Due to the abundant functional groups, the developed TSMA/MSPE presented satisfactory capture performance towards LCMs. Satisfactory enrichment factors (132-212) and high adsorption capacity (18 mg/g) were obtained. Additionally, the relevant adsorption mechanism was studied by the combination of density functional theory calculation and experiments about adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm. Under the beneficial conditions, a sensitive and reliable method for the monitoring of studied LCMs in environmental waters was established by the combination of TSMA/MSPE with HPLC equipped with diode array detector (DAD). The achieved limits of detection and spiked recoveries were 0.0025-0.0061 μg/L and 81.0-112 %, respectively. Finally, the developed method was employed to monitor LCMs levels in the North Creek watershed of Jiulong River. SIGNIFICANCE AND NOVELTY The current study provided a new adsorbent for quick and efficient capture of LCMs at trace levels. In addition, a sensitive, reliable and anti-intereference method for the monitoring of trace LCMs in actual waters was established. Moreover, for the first, the contents, occurrence and distribution of LCMs in North Creek watershed was investigated based on the developed method.
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Affiliation(s)
- YueYue Zhang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Fujian Key Laboratory of Coastal Pollution Prevention and Control, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Dingliang Tang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Yuanfei Wu
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Xiaojia Huang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Fujian Key Laboratory of Coastal Pollution Prevention and Control, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
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Jiang YY, Zeng Y, Long L, Guo J, Lu RF, Chen PP, Pan ZJ, Zhang YT, Luo XJ, Mai BX. First Report on the Trophic Transfer and Priority List of Liquid Crystal Monomers in the Pearl River Estuary. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 39190601 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c04962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are emerging organic pollutants due to their potential persistence, toxicity, and bioaccumulation. This study first characterized the levels and compositions of 19 LCMs in organisms in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), estimated their bioaccumulation and trophic transfer potential, and identified priority contaminants. LCMs were generally accumulated in organisms from sediment, and the LCM concentrations in all organisms ranged from 32.35 to 1367 ng/g lipid weight. The main LCMs in organisms were biphenyls and analogues (BAs) (76.6%), followed by cyanobiphenyls and analogues (CBAs) (15.1%), and the least were fluorinated biphenyls and analogues (FBAs) (11.2%). The most abundant LCM monomers of BAs, FBAs, and CBAs in LCMs in organisms were 1-(4-propylcyclohexyl)-4-vinylcyclohexane (15.1%), 1-ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(4-(4-propylcyclohexyl) cyclohexyl) benzene (EDPBB, 10.1%), and 4'-propoxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5.1%), respectively. The niche studies indicated that the PRE food web was composed of terrestrial-based diet and marine food chains. Most LCMs exhibited biodilution in the terrestrial-based diet and marine food chains, except for EDPBB and 4,4'-bis(4-propylcyclohexyl) biphenyl (BPCHB). The hydrophobicity, position of fluorine substitution of LCMs, and biological habits may be important factors affecting the bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of LCMs. BPCHB, 1-(prop-1-enyl)-4-(4-propylcyclohexyl) cyclohexane, and EDPBB were characterized as priority contaminants. This study first reports the trophic transfer processes and mechanisms of LCMs and the biomonitoring in PRE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ye Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - YanHong Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Environmental Pollution and Control, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Ling Long
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jian Guo
- Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming 525000, China
| | - Rui-Feng Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Peng-Peng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zi-Jian Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yan-Ting Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiao-Jun Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Environmental Pollution and Control, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Bi-Xian Mai
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Environmental Pollution and Control, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou 510640, China
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He W, Yang H, Li Y, Cui Y, Wei L, Xu T, Li Y, Zhang M. Identifying the toxic mechanisms of emerging electronic contaminations liquid crystal monomers and the construction of a priority control list for graded control. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 951:175398. [PMID: 39128516 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/06/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are identified as emerging organic contaminations with largely unexplored health impacts. To elucidate their toxic mechanisms, support the establishment of environmental discharge and management standards, and promote effective LCMs control, this study constructs a database covering 20,545 potential targets of 1431 LCMs, highlighting 9 key toxic target proteins that disrupt the nervous system and metabolic functions. GO and KEGG pathway analysis suggests LCMs severely affect nervous system, linked to neurodegenerative diseases and mental health disorders, with toxicity variations driven by electronegativity and structural complexity of LCM terminal groups. To achieve tiered control of LCMs, construct toxicity risk control lists for 9 key toxic target proteins, suitable for the graded control of LCMs, management recommendations are provided based on toxicity levels. These lists were validated for reliability and offer reliable toxicity predictions for LCMs. SHAP analysis points to electronic properties, molecular shape, and structural characteristics of LCMs as primary health impact factors. As the first study integrating machine learning with computational toxicology to outline LCMs health impacts, it aims to enhance public understanding of LCM toxicity risks and support the development of environmental standards, effective management of LCM production and emissions, and reduction of public exposure risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei He
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Yang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Yunxiang Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuhan Cui
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Luanxiao Wei
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Tingzhi Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China.
| | - Yu Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; The Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, International Joint Laboratory for Regional Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China.
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Yang R, Xu X, Wang X, Niu Y, Du J, Li H, Chen X, Li G, Shao B. Fluorinated Liquid-Crystal Monomers in Serum from the General Population and Their Impact on Human Health. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 39143808 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
Fluorinated liquid-crystal monomers (FLCMs) are a potential emerging class of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic compounds. Humans inevitably ingest FLCMs via food and the environment. However, there are limited studies on internal exposure biomonitoring of FLCMs. Herein, we evaluated the estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of FLCMs in the general population based on serum residue levels. For the first time, 38 FLCMs were detected in 314 serum samples from the general population in Beijing, with a median value of 132.48 ng/g of lipid weight (lw). BDPrB is a predominant FLCM in serum. The median EDI of ∑38FLCMs in the general residents was 37.96 pg/kg bw/day. The residual levels of most FLCMs were higher in urban than in suburban areas (p < 0.05). The concentrations of EFPEB, EDPrB, EDFPBB, and PDTFMTFT in serum showed positive associations with blood glucose (GLU) (r = 0.126-0.275, p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that FLCMs were significantly positively correlated with dyslipidemia, with an odds ratio of 2.19; BDPrB was significantly positively correlated with hyperglycemia (OR: 2.48). Overall, the present study suggests the occurrence of FLCMs in the nonoccupational population, and the exposure of certain FLCMs may cause abnormal blood glucose and lipid levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runhui Yang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Xin Xu
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Xinyi Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Yumin Niu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Jing Du
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Hong Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Xianggui Chen
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
| | - Gang Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Bing Shao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
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8
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Liu Y, Kannan K. Concentrations, Profiles, and Potential Sources of Liquid Crystal Monomers in Residential Indoor Dust from the United States. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:12400-12408. [PMID: 38967412 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c03131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are biphenyl- or cyclohexane-based organic chemicals used in electronic digital displays, and several of them possess bioaccumulative and toxic properties. Little is known about their occurrence in indoor dust from the United States. We analyzed 60 LCMs in 104 residential indoor dust samples collected from 16 states across the United States. Forty-seven of 60 LCMs were detected in dust samples at a median ∑LCM concentration of 402 ng/g (range: not detected to 4300 ng/g). Trans-4-propylcyclohexyl trans,trans-4'-propylbicyclohexyl-4-carboxylate (MPVBC) and (trans,trans)-4-fluorophenyl 4'-pentyl-[1,1'-bi(cyclohexane)]-4-carboxylate (FPeBC) were frequently detected in dust samples. We investigated potential sources of LCMs in dust by determining concentrations and profiles of these chemicals in smartphone screens, desktop and laptop computer monitors, and displays of other electronic devices and found that profiles in smartphones matched closely with those found in dust. The calculated median daily intake of ∑LCM through dust ingestion was 1.19 ng/kg bw/d for children, whereas that through dermal absorption was 0.18 ng/kg bw/d for adults in the United States.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Liu
- New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12237, United States
| | - Kurunthachalam Kannan
- New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12237, United States
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12237, United States
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9
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Stadelmann B, Leonards PEG, Brandsma SH. A new class of contaminants of concern? A comprehensive review of liquid crystal monomers. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 947:174443. [PMID: 38964401 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 06/30/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are a class of emerging contaminants of concern predicted to be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT). Being one of the key components in liquid crystal displays (LCDs), the disposal of LCD containing devices is closely related to the emission of LCMs into the environment. LCMs have been detected in a wide range of environmental matrices including dust, sediment, soil, sewage leachate, and air, with concentration ranges between 17 and 2121 ng/g found in indoor residential dust. Furthermore, they have been detected on human skin at concentrations up to 2,071,000 ng/m2 and in the serum of e-waste dismantling workers, at concentrations ranging from 3.9 to 276 ng/mL. Despite the far-reaching contamination of these compounds, there is limited knowledge of their environmental behaviour, fate, and toxicity. Model predictions show that 297 of 330 LCMs are persistent and bioaccumulative compounds, with many more indicated as being toxic. However, current knowledge of their physicochemical and PBT properties is largely restricted to theoretical predictions and limited to a small number of experimental toxicity studies. As an emerging class of contaminants of concern, a lack of standardisation between studies was identified as a key challenge to advancing the state of knowledge of these compounds. Not only are harmonised analytical methods for their determination and quantification in environmental media yet to be established, but there is also a need for a universal abbreviation system. To further harmonise the reporting of data on LCMs we propose reporting the sum concentration of ten priority LCMs, selected on the basis detection frequency, toxicity and potential for human exposure. Of the ten priority LCMs five are fluorinated biphenyls and analogues, four are biphenyls/bicyclohexyls and analogues and one is a cyanobiphenyl.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Stadelmann
- Institute Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Universiteit van Amsterdam, PO Box 94240, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Pim E G Leonards
- Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, Chemistry for Environment & Health, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sicco H Brandsma
- Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, Chemistry for Environment & Health, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1108, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Ge Y, Cui J, Zhang L, Zhang S, Baqar M, Cheng Z. Informal E-waste dismantling activities accelerated the releasing of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in Pakistan: Occurrence, distribution, and exposure assessment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 932:172987. [PMID: 38734084 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 04/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are emerging contaminants characterized by their persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and toxicity. They have been observed in several environmental matrices associated with electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling activities, particularly in China. However, there is currently no information on the pollution caused by LCMs in other developing countries, such as Pakistan. In this study, we collected soil samples (n = 59) from e-waste dismantling areas with different functions in Pakistan for quantification analysis of 52 target LCMs. Thirty out of 52 LCMs were detected in the soil samples, with the concentrations ranging from 2.14 to 191 ng/g (median: 16.3 ng/g), suggesting widespread contamination by these emerging contaminants. Fluorinated LCMs (median: 10.4 ng/g, range: 1.27-116 ng/g) were frequently detected and their levels were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of non-fluorinated LCMs (median: 6.11 ng/g, range: not detected (ND)-76.7 ng/g). The concentrations and profiles of the observed LCMs in the soil samples from the four functional areas varied. The informal dismantling of e-waste poses a potential exposure risk to adults and infants, with median estimated daily intake (EDI, ng/kg bw/day) values of 0.0420 and 0.1013, respectively. Calculation of the hazard quotient (HQ) suggested that some LCMs (e.g., ETFMBC (1.374) and EDFPB (1.257)) may pose potential health risks to occupational workers and their families. Considering the widespread contamination and risks associated with LCMs, we strongly recommend enhancing e-waste management and regulation in Pakistan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhui Ge
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Jingren Cui
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Lianying Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Shaohan Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Mujtaba Baqar
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
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11
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Wang F, Xiang L, Sze-Yin Leung K, Elsner M, Zhang Y, Guo Y, Pan B, Sun H, An T, Ying G, Brooks BW, Hou D, Helbling DE, Sun J, Qiu H, Vogel TM, Zhang W, Gao Y, Simpson MJ, Luo Y, Chang SX, Su G, Wong BM, Fu TM, Zhu D, Jobst KJ, Ge C, Coulon F, Harindintwali JD, Zeng X, Wang H, Fu Y, Wei Z, Lohmann R, Chen C, Song Y, Sanchez-Cid C, Wang Y, El-Naggar A, Yao Y, Huang Y, Cheuk-Fung Law J, Gu C, Shen H, Gao Y, Qin C, Li H, Zhang T, Corcoll N, Liu M, Alessi DS, Li H, Brandt KK, Pico Y, Gu C, Guo J, Su J, Corvini P, Ye M, Rocha-Santos T, He H, Yang Y, Tong M, Zhang W, Suanon F, Brahushi F, Wang Z, Hashsham SA, Virta M, Yuan Q, Jiang G, Tremblay LA, Bu Q, Wu J, Peijnenburg W, Topp E, Cao X, Jiang X, Zheng M, Zhang T, Luo Y, Zhu L, Li X, Barceló D, Chen J, Xing B, Amelung W, Cai Z, Naidu R, Shen Q, Pawliszyn J, Zhu YG, Schaeffer A, Rillig MC, Wu F, Yu G, Tiedje JM. Emerging contaminants: A One Health perspective. Innovation (N Y) 2024; 5:100612. [PMID: 38756954 PMCID: PMC11096751 DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Environmental pollution is escalating due to rapid global development that often prioritizes human needs over planetary health. Despite global efforts to mitigate legacy pollutants, the continuous introduction of new substances remains a major threat to both people and the planet. In response, global initiatives are focusing on risk assessment and regulation of emerging contaminants, as demonstrated by the ongoing efforts to establish the UN's Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution Prevention. This review identifies the sources and impacts of emerging contaminants on planetary health, emphasizing the importance of adopting a One Health approach. Strategies for monitoring and addressing these pollutants are discussed, underscoring the need for robust and socially equitable environmental policies at both regional and international levels. Urgent actions are needed to transition toward sustainable pollution management practices to safeguard our planet for future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Leilei Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Kelvin Sze-Yin Leung
- Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
- HKBU Institute of Research and Continuing Education, Shenzhen Virtual University Park, Shenzhen, China
| | - Martin Elsner
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Institute of Hydrochemistry, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Ying Zhang
- School of Resources & Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
| | - Yuming Guo
- Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Bo Pan
- Faculty of Environmental Science & Engineering, Kunming University of Science & Technology, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Taicheng An
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Guangguo Ying
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China
| | - Bryan W. Brooks
- Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
- Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research (CRASR), Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - Deyi Hou
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Damian E. Helbling
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Jianqiang Sun
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology for Industrial Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Hao Qiu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Timothy M. Vogel
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Microbienne, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UMR CNRS 5557, UMR INRAE 1418, VetAgro Sup, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Yanzheng Gao
- Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang Road 1, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Myrna J. Simpson
- Environmental NMR Centre and Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Yi Luo
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Scott X. Chang
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Guanyong Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Bryan M. Wong
- Materials Science & Engineering Program, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Tzung-May Fu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement and Early Warning Technology for Urban Environmental Health Risks, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Dong Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Karl J. Jobst
- Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Avenue, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Chengjun Ge
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Frederic Coulon
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
| | - Jean Damascene Harindintwali
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiankui Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Haijun Wang
- Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China
| | - Yuhao Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhong Wei
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Rainer Lohmann
- Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, USA
| | - Changer Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China
| | - Yang Song
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Concepcion Sanchez-Cid
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, UMR 5005 Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS, École Centrale de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Écully, France
| | - Yu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ali El-Naggar
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
- Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11241, Egypt
| | - Yiming Yao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yanran Huang
- Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Chenggang Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Huizhong Shen
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement and Early Warning Technology for Urban Environmental Health Risks, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yanpeng Gao
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Chao Qin
- Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang Road 1, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Hao Li
- Faculty of Environmental Science & Engineering, Kunming University of Science & Technology, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Natàlia Corcoll
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Min Liu
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Daniel S. Alessi
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Kristian K. Brandt
- Section for Microbial Ecology and Biotechnology, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Sino-Danish Center (SDC), Beijing, China
| | - Yolanda Pico
- Food and Environmental Safety Research Group of the University of Valencia (SAMA-UV), Desertification Research Centre - CIDE (CSIC-UV-GV), Road CV-315 km 10.7, 46113 Moncada, Valencia, Spain
| | - Cheng Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jianqiang Su
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Philippe Corvini
- School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
| | - Mao Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Teresa Rocha-Santos
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Huan He
- Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Water and Soil Eco-remediation, School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Meiping Tong
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Weina Zhang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Fidèle Suanon
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Materials and Molecular Modeling (LCP3M), University of Abomey-Calavi, Republic of Benin, Cotonou 01 BP 526, Benin
| | - Ferdi Brahushi
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Agricultural University of Tirana, 1029 Tirana, Albania
| | - Zhenyu Wang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, and School of Environment & Ecology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Syed A. Hashsham
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Marko Virta
- Department of Microbiology, University of Helsinki, 00010 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Qingbin Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Gaofei Jiang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Louis A. Tremblay
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa 1142, New Zealand
| | - Qingwei Bu
- School of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology - Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Jichun Wu
- Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Willie Peijnenburg
- National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Center for the Safety of Substances and Products, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Leiden University, Center for Environmental Studies, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Edward Topp
- Agroecology Mixed Research Unit, INRAE, 17 rue Sully, 21065 Dijon Cedex, France
| | - Xinde Cao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xin Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Minghui Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Taolin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Yongming Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lizhong Zhu
- Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Xiangdong Li
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Damià Barceló
- Chemistry and Physics Department, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain
| | - Jianmin Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Baoshan Xing
- Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Wulf Amelung
- Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), Soil Science and Soil Ecology, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
- Agrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Zongwei Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental and Biological Analysis, Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ravi Naidu
- Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), The University of Newcastle (UON), Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
- Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE), The University of Newcastle (UON), Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Qirong Shen
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Janusz Pawliszyn
- Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Yong-guan Zhu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Andreas Schaeffer
- Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Matthias C. Rillig
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Fengchang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Gang Yu
- Advanced Interdisciplinary Institute of Environment and Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - James M. Tiedje
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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Yang Q, Zhou T, Liu Y, Weng J, Gao L, Liu Y, Xu M, Zhao B, Zheng M. Analysis of 78 trace liquid crystal monomers in air by gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 928:172459. [PMID: 38615780 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) comprise a class of organic pollutants that have garnered considerable attention because of their dioxin-like toxicity (i.e., modulation of genes) and presence in various environments. However, limited information about the identities, occurrence, and distribution of LCMs has highlighted an urgent need for a high-throughput and sensitive analytical method. In this study, we developed and validated a rapid, simple, sensitive method that involves minimal solvent consumption. The method was applied for the simultaneous detection and identification of 78 LCMs in atmospheric total suspended particulate samples (dae < 100 μm) using gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The results showed high degrees of linearity with correlation coefficients >0.995 in the concentration range of 5.0-500 ng/mL. The instrumental detection limits ranged from 0.7 to 5.3 pg, and the method detection limits ranged from 0.1 to 0.9 pg/m3. The accuracy of the method was between 70 % and 130 % for most analytes, and the relative standard deviations of six replicates were <15 % at three levels of spiking (10, 50, and 200 ng/mL). The developed analytical method was applied to analyze real air particulate samples from Beijing, China. Overall, 45 LCMs ranged from 65.5 to 145.7 pg/m3, with a mean concentration of 92.5 pg/m3. Among them, (trans,trans)-4-propyl-4'-ethenyl-1,1'-bicyclohexane (PVB) was the most abundant, with an average concentration of 33.6 pg/m3. The total estimated daily intakes of LCMs for adults and children were 15.6 and 46.6 pg/kg bw/day, respectively. Accordingly, the method described herein is suitable for quantifying LCMs in atmospheric particulate samples. This study will be valuable for investigating LCM environmental occurrence, behaviors, and risk assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianling Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tingting Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jiyuan Weng
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Lirong Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Yin Liu
- School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Ming Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Bin Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Minghui Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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13
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Li C, Li S, Zhang X, Jiang X, Yang Y, Qu J, Martyniuk CJ. Photochemical behaviour and toxicity evolution of phenylbenzoate liquid crystal monomers in water. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 471:134320. [PMID: 38640663 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are a group of emerging pollutants that pose potential environmental risks because of their ubiquitous occurrence and toxicity. Understanding their environmental transformation is essential for assessing the ecological risk. In this study, we investigated the photochemical transformation kinetics, mechanism, and photo-induced toxicity of three phenylbenzoate LCMs in water. Their apparent photolytic rate constants were within (0.023 - 0.058) min-1, and the half-lives were < 30.0 min, showing lower persistence in water. Dissolved organic matter significantly inhibited their photolysis because of light-shielding effect and quenching of excited triplet states of LCMs. Their photolysis mainly occurred through excited triplet states, and the reactive oxygen species (i.e., ⋅OH, 1O2 and ⋅O2-) contributed to their degradation. The main photolysis pathways were ester bond cleavage, ⋅OH substitution/addition, and defluorination. Experiments and computational simulation revealed that some ·OH addition/substitution products have similar toxicity with LCMs. Additionally, the ∙OH reaction rate constants (kOH) of LCMs were determined to be > 1 × 109 M-1 s-1, evidence for their high reactivity toward ⋅OH. We have further developed reliable methods to estimate kOH of other phenylbenzoate-like LCMs with quantum chemical calculations. These results are useful for understanding the transformation and fate of LCMs in aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Li
- Engineering Lab for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China.
| | - Shaochen Li
- Engineering Lab for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Xiao Zhang
- Engineering Lab for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Xiangkun Jiang
- Engineering Lab for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Engineering Lab for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Jiao Qu
- Engineering Lab for Water Pollution Control and Resources Recovery, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Christopher J Martyniuk
- Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, UF Genetics Institute, Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Feng JJ, Liao JX, Jiang QW, Mo L. Characteristic structures of liquid crystal monomers in EI-MS analysis and the potential application in suspect screening. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 358:142210. [PMID: 38704041 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2024] [Revised: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are of emerging concern due to their ubiquitous presence in indoor and outdoor environments and their potential negative impacts on human health and ecosystems. Suspect screening approaches have been developed to monitor thousands of LCMs that could enter the environment, but an updated suspect list of LCMs is difficult to maintain given the rapid development of material innovations. To facilitate suspect screening for LCMs, in-silico mass fragmentation model and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSPR) models were applied to predict electron ionization (EI) mass spectra of LCMs. The in-silico model showed limited predictive power for EI mass spectra, while the QSPR models trained with 437 published mass spectra of LCMs achieved an acceptable absolute error of 12 percentage points in predicting the relative intensity of the molecular ion, but failed to predict the mass-to-charge ratio of the base peak. A total of 41 characteristic structures were identified from an updated suspect list of 1606 LCMs. Multi-phenyl groups form the rigid cores of 85% of LCMs and produce 154 characteristic peaks in EI mass spectra. Monitoring the characteristic structures and fragments of LCMs may help identify new LCMs with the same rigid cores as those in the suspect list.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Jing Feng
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China.
| | - Jian-Xiong Liao
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China
| | - Qian-Wen Jiang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China
| | - Ling Mo
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China
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15
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Wu J, Li R, Su G. Investigation of the Role of Distances from Liquid Crystal Monomer (LCM) Factories on Distribution of LCMs in Surface Soil Samples. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2024:124285. [PMID: 38823544 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs), which are commonly used in electronic device screens, have attracted attention as a potential class of emerging organic pollutants with persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) properties. This study involved the collection of 54 surface soil samples around one LC industrial park at increasing spatial distances within 1 km, 1-3 km, and 3-5 km from the center of the LC industrial park. Our observations revealed the presence of LCMs in 46 of 54 surface soil samples examined. Of the 39 target LCMs, 36 were identified, comprising 14 non-fluorinated and 22 fluorinated LCMs. Nine LCMs were detected at frequencies exceeding 50%, with 3bcHdFB exhibiting the highest detection frequency of 59% in the soil samples. The total LCM concentrations across the 46 sampling locations varied from 0.0072 to 17.24 ng/g dw, with the highest total concentrations at sampling sites within 1 km of the liquid crystal plant, suggesting that manufacturing processes may be a potential source for LCM release into the environment. Differences were observed in the LCM contamination patterns among the three sampling areas. Additionally, we observed a decrease in the median LCM concentration with increasing distance from the center of the LC industrial park. However, no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) in LCM concentrations were observed across the three distances assessed in this study. This may be owing to the limited variety of target compounds analyzed and the limited number of soil samples. Our results emphasize that further studies on the emissions and pollution characteristics of LCMs during production are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Wu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China
| | - Rongrong Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China
| | - Guanyong Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China.
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16
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Wu J, Ye W, Feng Y, Lao W, Li J, Lu H, Liu G, Su G, Deng Y. Aquatic photolysis of high-risk fluorinated liquid crystal monomers: Kinetics, toxicity evaluation, and mechanisms. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 255:121510. [PMID: 38555780 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Despite the frequent detection of fluorinated liquid-crystal monomers (FLCMs) in the environment, the level of understanding of their fate, toxicity, and transformation remains insufficient. Herein, we investigated the degradation kinetics and mechanism of an FLCM (4-cyano-3-fluorophenyl 4-ethylbenzoate, CEB-F) under ultraviolet (UV) photolysis in aquatic environment. Our findings demonstrated that the UV photolysis of CEB-F followed first-order kinetics. Photodegradation products were identified using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry, and detailed reaction pathways were proposed. It is postulated that through the attack of reactive oxygen species, hydroxylation, and CO/C-F bond cleavage, CEB-F gradually degraded into small molecular compounds, releasing fluorine ions. Acute immobilization tests with Daphnia magna (D. magna) revealed significant acute toxicity of CEB-F, with LC50 values ranging from 1.023 to 0.0536 μM over 24 to 96 h, emphasizing the potential high risk of FLCMs in aquatic ecosystems if inadvertently discharged. Interestingly, we found that the toxicity of CEB-F photolysis reaction solutions was effectively reduced. Through catalase and acetylcholinesterase activities analysis along with molecular docking simulation, we proposed differences in the underlying toxicity mechanisms of CEB-F and its photolysis products to D. magna. These findings highlight the potential harmful effects of FLCMs on aquatic ecosystems and enrich our understanding of the photolysis behavior of FLCMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyi Wu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Weibiao Ye
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yiping Feng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Wenhao Lao
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Junchun Li
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Contaminated Sites Environmental Management and Remediation, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Environmental Science, Guangzhou, 510045, China
| | - Haijian Lu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Contaminated Sites Environmental Management and Remediation, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Environmental Science, Guangzhou, 510045, China
| | - Guoguang Liu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Guanyong Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Research Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China
| | - Yirong Deng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Contaminated Sites Environmental Management and Remediation, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Environmental Science, Guangzhou, 510045, China.
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17
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He S, He J, Ma S, Wei K, Wu F, Xu J, Jin X, Zhao Y, Martyniuk CJ. Liquid crystal monomers disrupt photoreceptor patterning of zebrafish larvae via thyroid hormone signaling. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2024; 188:108747. [PMID: 38761427 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are the raw material for liquid crystal displays, and their use is steadily increasing in electronic products. Recently, LCMs have been reported to be novel endocrine disrupting chemicals, however, the mechanisms underlying their potential for thyroid hormone disruption and visual toxicity are not well understood. In this study, six widely used fluorinated LCMs (FLCMs) were selected to determine putative mechanisms underlying FLCM-induced toxicity to the zebrafish thyroid and visual systems. Exposure to FLCMs caused damage to retinal structures and reduced cell density of ganglion cell layer, inner nuclear layer, and photoreceptor layer approximately 12.6-46.1%. Exposure to FLCMs also disrupted thyroid hormone levels and perturbed the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis by affecting key enzymes and protein in zebrafish larvae. A thyroid hormone-dependent GH3 cell viability assay supported the hypothesis that FLCMs act as thyroid hormone disrupting chemicals. It was also determined that FLCMs containing aliphatic ring structures may have a higher potential for T3 antagonism compared to FLCMs without an aliphatic ring. Molecular docking in silico suggested that FLCMs may affect biological functions of thyroxine binding globulin, membrane receptor integrin, and thyroid receptor beta. Lastly, the visual motor response of zebrafish in red- and green-light was significantly inhibited following exposure to FLCMs. Taken together, we demonstrate that FLCMs can act as thyroid hormone disruptors to induce visual dysfunction in zebrafish via several molecular mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan He
- College of Geo-exploration Science and Technology, Jilin University, Changchun 130026, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Jia He
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Siying Ma
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Kunyu Wei
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Fengchang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
| | - Jian Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Xiaowei Jin
- China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Yuanhui Zhao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin 130117, China
| | - Christopher J Martyniuk
- Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, UF Genetics Institute, Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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18
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Li H, Lyu B, Li J, Shi Z. Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in indoor residential dust from Beijing, China: occurrence and human exposure. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:29859-29869. [PMID: 38592626 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33236-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are widely used in electronic devices and emerging as an environmental pollutant, while their occurrence in indoor environments is still less studied. In this study, 32 out of 37 target LCMs were detected in indoor residential dust samples (n = 112) from Beijing, China. Concentrations of Σ32LCMs ranged from 17.8 to 197 ng/g, with a median value of 54.7 ng/g. Fluorinated biphenyls and analogs (FBAs) and cyanobiphenyls and analogs (CBAs), with median concentrations of 22.8 and 15.9 ng/g, respectively, were the main kinds of LCMs. Although 32 LCMs can be detected, four monomers with the highest contamination levels contributed to almost 70% of the total LCMs. Spearman correlation analysis found significant correlations among some monomers, which indicated that they might share similar sources in the residential environment. Estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of LCMs via indoor dust for Beijing residents were calculated, and the results showed that dust ingestion and dermal contact were both main intake pathways to LCMs, and younger people may face higher exposure to LCMs. A comparison to the results of China's total diet study showed that EDIs of LCMs via food consumption might be higher than that via dust intake, while health risks caused by exposure of LCMs for the general population, both through food and dust, were insignificant at present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Li
- School of Public Health and Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China
- NHC Key Lab of Food Safety Risk Assessment, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Food Safety, (No. 2019RU014), China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA), Beijing, 100022, China
| | - Bing Lyu
- NHC Key Lab of Food Safety Risk Assessment, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Food Safety, (No. 2019RU014), China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA), Beijing, 100022, China
| | - Jingguang Li
- NHC Key Lab of Food Safety Risk Assessment, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Food Safety, (No. 2019RU014), China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA), Beijing, 100022, China
| | - Zhixiong Shi
- School of Public Health and Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China.
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19
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Zhang S, Cheng Z, Cao Y, He F, Zhao L, Baqar M, Zhu H, Zhang T, Sun H. Aromatic amine antioxidants (AAs) and p-phenylenediamines-quinones (PPD-Qs) in e-waste recycling industry park: Occupational exposure and liver X receptors (LXRs) disruption potential. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2024; 186:108609. [PMID: 38579452 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Revised: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Recently, evidence of aromatic amine antioxidants (AAs) existence in the dust of the electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling area has been exposed. However, there are limited studies investigating occupational exposure and toxicity associated with AAs and their transformation products (p-phenylenediamines-quinones, i.e., PPD-Qs). In this study, 115 dust and 42 hand wipe samples collected from an e-waste recycling industrial park in central China were analyzed for 19 AAs and 6 PPD-Qs. Notably, the median concentration of ∑6PPD-Qs (1,110 ng/g and 1,970 ng/m2) was significantly higher (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test) than that of ∑6PPDs (147 ng/g and 34.0 ng/m2) in dust and hand wipes. Among the detected analytes, 4-phenylaminodiphenylamine quinone (DPPD-Q) (median: 781 ng/g) and 1,4-Bis(2-naphthylamino) benzene quinone (DNPD-Q) (median: 156 ng/g), were particularly prominent, which were first detected in the e-waste dismantling area. Occupational exposure assessments and nuclear receptor interference ability, conducted through estimated daily intake (EDI) and molecular docking analysis, respectively, indicated significant occupational exposure to PPD-Qs and suggested prioritized Liver X receptors (LXRs) disruption potential of PPDs and PPD-Qs. The study provides the first evidence of considerable levels of AAs and PPD-Qs in the e-waste-related hand wipe samples and underscores the importance of assessing occupational exposure and associated toxicity effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaohan Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
| | - Yuhao Cao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environment and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
| | - Feixiang He
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Leicheng Zhao
- School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environment and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
| | - Mujtaba Baqar
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China; Sustainable Development Study Centre, Government College University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
| | - Hongkai Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, 135 Xingang West Street, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
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20
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Zheng S, Wang J, Luo K, Gu X, Yuan G, Wei M, Yao Y, Zhao Y, Dai J, Zhang K. Comprehensive Characterization of Organic Light-Emitting Materials in Breast Milk by Target and Suspect Screening. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:5103-5116. [PMID: 38445973 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Organic light-emitting materials (OLEMs) are emerging contaminants in the environment and have been detected in various environment samples. However, limited information is available regarding their contamination within the human body. Here, we developed a novel QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method coupled with triple quadrupole/high-resolution mass spectrometry to determine OLEMs in breast milk samples, employing both target and suspect screening strategies. Our analysis uncovered the presence of seven out of the 39 targeted OLEMs in breast milk samples, comprising five liquid crystal monomers and two OLEMs commonly used in organic light-emitting diode displays. The cumulative concentrations of the seven OLEMs in each breast milk sample ranged from ND to 1.67 × 103 ng/g lipid weight, with a mean and median concentration of 78.76 and 0.71 ng/g lipid weight, respectively, which were higher compared to that of typical organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers. We calculated the estimated daily intake (EDI) rates of OLEMs for infants aged 0-12 months, and the mean EDI rates during lactation were estimated to range from 30.37 to 54.89 ng/kg bw/day. Employing a suspect screening approach, we additionally identified 66 potential OLEMs, and two of them, cholesteryl hydrogen phthalate and cholesteryl benzoate, were further confirmed using pure reference standards. These two substances belong to cholesteric liquid crystal materials and raise concerns about potential endocrine-disrupting effects, as indicated by in silico predictive models. Overall, our present study established a robust method for the identification of OLEMs in breast milk samples, shedding light on their presence in the human body. These findings indicate human exposure to OLEMs that should be further investigated, including their health risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuping Zheng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jingsheng Wang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Kai Luo
- Key Laboratory of Environment Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Xiaoxia Gu
- Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Guanxiang Yuan
- Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Meiting Wei
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, China
| | - Yao Yao
- The Genetics Laboratory, Longgang District Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital of Shenzhen City, Longgang Maternity and Child Institute, Shantou University Medical College, Shenzhen 518172, Guangdong, China
| | - Yanbin Zhao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Jiayin Dai
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Kun Zhang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
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21
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Zhang R, Zhang X, Zhang Q, Li Y, Wang Y, Xu J, Cheng Z, Chen H, Yao Y, Sun H. Heterogeneous Photodegradation Behavior of Liquid Crystal Monomers in Dust: Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship and Product Identification. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:3908-3918. [PMID: 38329000 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c04753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
The heterogeneous photodegradation behavior of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in standard dust (standard reference material, SRM 2583) and environmental dust was investigated. The measured photodegradation ratios for 23 LCMs in SRM and environmental dust in 12 h were 11.1 ± 1.8 to 23.2 ± 1.1% and 8.7 ± 0.5 to 24.0 ± 2.8%, respectively. The degradation behavior of different LCM compounds varied depending on their structural properties. A quantitative structure-activity relationship model for predicting the degradation ratio of LCMs in SRM dust was established, which revealed that the molecular descriptors related to molecular polarizability, electronegativity, and molecular mass were closely associated with LCMs' photodegradation. The photodegradation products of the LCM compound 4'-propoxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (PBIPHCN) in dust, including •OH oxidation, C-O bond cleavage, and ring-opening products, were identified by nontarget analysis, and the corresponding degradation pathways were suggested. Some of the identified products, such as 4'-hydroxyethoxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile, showed predicted toxicity (with an oral rat lethal dose of 50%) comparable to that of PBIPHCN. The half-lives of the studied LCMs in SRM dust were estimated at 32.2-82.5 h by fitting an exponential decay curve to the observed photodegradation data. The photodegradation mechanisms of LCMs in dust were revealed for the first time, enhancing the understanding of LCMs' environmental behavior and risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiqi Zhang
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Xiao Zhang
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
| | - Qiuyue Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yongcheng Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yu Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Jiaping Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hao Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yiming Yao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300350, China
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22
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Huang Y, Ruan Q, Fang S, Duan Y, Zheng J, Xiang Z, Shen Y, Liu S, Ouyang G. Toxicity Assessment of Environmental Liquid Crystal Monomers: A Bacteriological Investigation on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38321847 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
The widespread existence of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in various environmental matrices has been demonstrated, yet studies on the toxicological effects of LCMs are considerably scarce and are urgently needed to be conducted to assess the adverse impacts on ecology and human health. Here, we conducted a bacteriological study on two representative human commensal bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), to investigate the effect of LCMs at human-relevant dosage and maximum environmental concentration on growth, metabolome, enzymatic activity, and mRNA expression. Microbial growth results exhibited that the highest inhibition ratio of LCMs on S. epidermidis reached 33.6% in our set concentration range, while the corresponding data on E. coli was only 14.3%. Additionally, LCMs showed more dose-dependent toxicity to S. epidermidis rather than E. coli. A novel in vivo solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was applied to capture the in vivo metabolites of microorganisms. In vivo metabolomic analyses revealed that dysregulated fatty acid metabolism-related products of both bacteria accounted for >50% of the total number of differential substances, and the results also showed the species-specific and concentration-dependent metabolic dysregulation in LCM-exposed bacteria. The determination of enzymatic activity and mRNA relative expression levels related to oxidative stress confirmed our speculation that the adverse effects were related to the oxidative metabolism of fatty acids. This study complements the gaps in toxicity data for LCMs against bacteria and provides a new and important insight regarding metabolic dysregulation induced by environmental LCMs in human commensal bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiquan Huang
- KLGHEI of Environment and Energy Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Qijun Ruan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Shuting Fang
- KLGHEI of Environment and Energy Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Yingming Duan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Jiating Zheng
- KLGHEI of Environment and Energy Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Zhangmin Xiang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Yong Shen
- KLGHEI of Environment and Energy Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Shuqin Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Gangfeng Ouyang
- KLGHEI of Environment and Energy Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center Guangzhou), 100 Xianlie Middle Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
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23
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Xie JF, Wei GL, Zeng LX, Liu LY. Liquid crystal monomers in soils near the e-waste recycling site and liquid crystal display manufacturer: Exponential decrease with distance. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 909:168428. [PMID: 37972771 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) have been recognized as contaminants of emerging concerns. E-waste recycling sites and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) manufacturers are supposed to be critical sources. However, information regarding LCM contaminations in soils surrounding these sites are currently unavailable. In this study, soil samples were collected from two distinct areas in South China: e-waste recycling area (n = 36) and LCD manufacturer (n = 41), and 60 target LCMs (including 13 biphenyl and analogs (BAs), 10 cyanobiphenyl and analogs (CBAs), and 37 fluorinated biphenyl and analogs (FBAs)) were determined. The concentrations of LCMs in the soils from near the e-waste recycling area (0.32-18 ng/g, average: 4.2 ng/g) were higher than those surrounding the LCD manufacturer (ND - 7.2 ng/g, average: 1.5 ng/g). The compositional profiles of LCMs in soil samples from these two typical point sources were considerably different. The concentrations of FBAs exponentially decreased with distance from the e-waste recycling park, by >90 % within 2 km. The levels of BAs exhibited a similar exponential decrease with distance from the LCD manufacturer. The inventories of LCMs were estimated to be 21.0 kg in the e-waste recycling area and 10.8 kg in the LCD manufacturer area. Remarkably, the inventory of LCMs in soils from e-waste recycling area was one order of magnitude larger than that of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in the same region, and 0.2 to 20 times the annual global emissions of LCMs from discarded LCD panels. More studies are required to elucidate the environmental occurrence, behavior, and fate of LCMs in multimedia environment surrounding typical point sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiong-Feng Xie
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
| | - Gao-Ling Wei
- National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Li-Xi Zeng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
| | - Liang-Ying Liu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China.
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24
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Lin H, Li X, Qin X, Cao Y, Ruan Y, Leung MKH, Leung KMY, Lam PKS, He Y. Particle size-dependent and route-specific exposure to liquid crystal monomers in indoor air: Implications for human health risk estimations. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:168328. [PMID: 37926258 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
In indoor environments, liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) released from display devices is a significant concern, necessitating a comprehensive investigation into their distribution behaviors and potential health risks. Herein, we examined various LCMs in educational and workplace air and compared their associated health risks through inhalation and dermal absorption routes. 4-propyl-4'-vinylbicyclohexyl (3VbcH) and 4,4'-bis(4-propylcyclohexyl) biphenyl (b3CHB) with median concentrations of 101 and 1460 pg m-3, were the predominant LCMs in gaseous and particulate phases, respectively. Composition and concentration of LCMs differed substantially between sampling locations due to the discrepancy in the quantity, types, and brands of electronic devices in each location. Three models were further employed to estimate the gas-particle partitioning of LCMs and compared with the measured data. The results indicated that the HB model exhibited the best overall performance, while the LMY model provided a good fit for LCMs with higher log Koa (>12.48). Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate and compared the probabilistic daily exposure dose and potential health risks. Inhalation exposure of LCMs was significantly greater than the dermal absorption by approximately 1-2 orders of magnitude, implying that it was the primary exposure route of human exposure to airborne LCMs. However, certain LCMs exhibited comparable or higher exposure levels via the dermal absorption route due to the significant overall permeability coefficient. Furthermore, the particle size was discovered to impact the daily exposure dose, contingent on the particle mass-transfer coefficients and accumulation of LCMs on diverse particle sizes. Although the probabilistic non-carcinogenic risks of LCMs were relatively low, their chronic effects on human beings merit further investigations. Overall, this study provides insights into the contamination and potential health risks of LCMs in indoor environments, underscoring the importance of considering particle sizes and all possible exposure pathways in estimating human health risks caused by airborne organic contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiju Lin
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Xinxing Li
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xian Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yaru Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yuefei Ruan
- Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Michael K H Leung
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kenneth M Y Leung
- Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Paul K S Lam
- Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Science, School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yuhe He
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China.
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25
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Zhu X, Yu Y, Meng W, Huang J, Su G, Zhong Y, Yu X, Sun J, Jin L, Peng P, Zhu L. Aerobic Microbial Transformation of Fluorinated Liquid Crystal Monomer: New Pathways and Mechanism. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:510-521. [PMID: 38100654 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c04256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Fluorinated liquid crystal monomers (FLCMs) have been suggested as emerging contaminants, raising global concern due to their frequent occurrence, potential toxic effects, and endurance capacity in the environment. However, the environmental fate of the FLCMs remains unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the aerobic microbial transformation mechanisms of an important FLCM, 4-[difluoro(3,4,5-trifluorophenoxy)methyl]-3, 5-difluoro-4'-propylbiphenyl (DTMDPB), using an enrichment culture termed as BG1. Our findings revealed that 67.5 ± 2.1% of the initially added DTMDPB was transformed in 10 days under optimal conditions. A total of 14 microbial transformation products obtained due to a series of reactions (e.g., reductive defluorination, ether bond cleavage, demethylation, oxidative hydroxylation and aromatic ring opening, sulfonation, glucuronidation, O-methylation, and thiolation) were identified. Consortium BG1 harbored essential genes that could transform DTMDPB, such as dehalogenation-related genes [e.g., glutathione S-transferase gene (GST), 2-haloacid dehalogenase gene (2-HAD), nrdB, nuoC, and nuoD]; hydroxylating-related genes hcaC, ubiH, and COQ7; aromatic ring opening-related genes ligB and catE; and methyltransferase genes ubiE and ubiG. Two DTMDPB-degrading strains were isolated, which are affiliated with the genus Sphingopyxis and Agromyces. This study provides a novel insight into the microbial transformation of FLCMs. The findings of this study have important implications for the development of bioremediation strategies aimed at addressing sites contaminated with FLCMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xifen Zhu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Processes and Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong 525000, China
| | - Yuanyuan Yu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Processes and Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong 525000, China
| | - Weikun Meng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China
| | - Jiahui Huang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Processes and Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong 525000, China
| | - Guanyong Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China
| | - Yin Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wushan, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Xiaolong Yu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Processes and Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong 525000, China
| | - Jianteng Sun
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Processes and Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong 525000, China
| | - Ling Jin
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong
| | - Ping'an Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wushan, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Lizhong Zhu
- Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
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26
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He W, Cui Y, Yang H, Gao J, Zhao Y, Hao N, Li Y, Zhang M. Aquatic toxicity, ecological effects, human exposure pathways and health risk assessment of liquid crystal monomers. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 461:132681. [PMID: 37801980 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs), one of the key materials for liquid crystal displays, have been considered as emerging pollutants in recent years. However, the environmental behaviors of LCMs have not yet been well investigated. The toxicity data of 1173 LCMs were calculated by integrated computational simulation methods in this study. It showed that 64.6% LCMs exhibited PBT (persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic) properties. Based on the results, 1173 LCMs were identified as molecules possessing the highest level of acute toxicity to aquatic organisms. Among which, and a human health risk priority control list about LCMs was generated in this study, among which 435 were classified as requiring priority control LCMs. It was confirmed that LCMs could eventually accumulate in the human body along the aquatic food chain or penetrate the bloodstream through the dermis, thereby causing harm to health by identifying the exposure pathways of LCMs in humans. Additionally, the electronegativity of the side chain group of LCMs is the main factor causing toxicity differences; therefore, the LCMs containing halogens presented significant acute and chronic toxic effects. This study provided a more comprehensive understanding of LCMs for the public and scientific strategies for controlling LCMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei He
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Yuhan Cui
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Hao Yang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Jiaxuan Gao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Yuanyuan Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Ning Hao
- College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
| | - Yu Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resources Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; The Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, International Joint Laboratory for Regional Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China.
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27
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Yao LL, Wang JL, Xu RF, Zhu M, Ma Y, Tang B, Lu QY, Cai FS, Yan X, Zheng J, Yu YJ. Occurrence of liquid crystal monomers in indoor and outdoor air particle matters (PM 10): Implications for human exposure indoors. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 905:166964. [PMID: 37699486 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are potentially persistent, bioaccumulating, and toxic substances. However, limited data are available on the occurrence of LCMs in indoor and outdoor air particle matter (PM10) in residential areas. Herein, residential areas near an e-waste dismantling center (Guiyu Town, Shantou City), as well as areas away from the e-waste site (Jiedong District, Jieyang City) were selected as the sampling areas. PM10 was collected from the indoor environments of Guiyu (IGY) and Jieyang (IJY), as well as those from the outdoor environments (OGY and OJY) using the high-volume air samplers (TH-10000C). The levels of 57 LCMs in PM10 were analyzed, and the highest concentrations of LCMs were found in IGY (0.970-1080 pg/m3), followed by IJY (2.853-455 pg/m3), OGY (0.544-116 pg/m3) and OJY (0.258-35.8 pg/m3). No significant difference was observed for LCM levels in indoor PM10 between the two areas (p > 0.05), which were significantly higher than those in outdoors (p < 0.05), indicating that the release of electronic products in general indoor environments is a source of LCMs that cannot be ignored. The compositions of LCMs in outdoors were not consistent with those of indoors. The correlation analysis of individual LCMs suggested potential different sources to the LCMs in indoor and outdoor environments. The median daily intake values of Σ46LCMs via inhalation were estimated as 0.440, 1.46 × 10-2, 0.170 and 1.19 × 10-2 ng/kg BW/day for adults, and as 2.27, 2.60 × 10-2, 0.880 and 2.10 × 10-2 ng/kg BW/day for toddlers, respectively, indicating much higher exposure doses of LCMs indoors compared with the outdoors, and much higher doses for toddlers compared with adults (p < 0.05). These results reveal the potentially adverse effects of LCMs on vulnerable populations, such as toddlers, in indoor environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Li Yao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China; The Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
| | - Jun-Li Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
| | - Rong-Fa Xu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China
| | - Ming Zhu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China
| | - Yan Ma
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China
| | - Bin Tang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China.
| | - Qi-Yuan Lu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China
| | - Feng-Shan Cai
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China
| | - Xiao Yan
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China; The Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, PR China.
| | - Jing Zheng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China; The Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
| | - Yun-Jiang Yu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, Research Group of Emerging Contaminants, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, PR China
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28
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Zhan Y, Jin Q, Lin H, Tao D, Law LY, Sun J, He Y. Occurrence, behavior and fate of liquid crystal monomers in municipal wastewater. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 247:120784. [PMID: 37950950 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs), the essential substances used in the display screen of electronic devices, have been proposed as a class of emerging chemicals of concern. Despite their detection in various environmental matrices, little is known about the presence of LCMs in municipal sewage systems. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence, distribution, and fate of 64 LCMs released into the aqueous environment from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Hong Kong, China. In total 14 LCMs were detected in WWTP samples. Specifically, the Σ14LCMs concentrations in crude influent, final effluent, and final sludge were found to be 16.8 ± 0.3 ng/L, 2.71 ± 0.05 ng/L, and 19.2 ± 1.0 ng/g dry weight, respectively. Among them, 10 fluorinated LCMs (F-LCMs) were determined to be present at concentrations of 8.90 ± 0.10 ng/L, 1.69 ± 0.05 ng/L, and 9.94 ± 1.00 ng/g dry weight, respectively. The predominant non-fluorinated LCMs (NF-LCMs) detected in all samples were 3OCB and EPhEMOB, while 2OdF3B was the dominant F-LCM. The overall removal rate of total LCMs was 83.8 ± 0.3 %, with 25.4 ± 4.8 % being removed by biodegradation and UV treatment. Compared to NF-LCMs, F-LCMs were more resistant to biodegradation. Despite the significant removal of LCMs through WWTP, the remaining LCMs in final effluent could result in an annual emission of 3.04 kg of total LCMs from the population of Hong Kong. This study provides the first evidence of LCMs contamination in municipal wastewater, possibly arising from routine electronic devices usage. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the potential impact of LCMs emission via WWTP effluent on the aquatic receiving ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Zhan
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Qianqian Jin
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Huiju Lin
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Danyang Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lok Yung Law
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jiaji Sun
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yuhe He
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China.
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29
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Lan Y, Liu Y, Cai Y, Du Q, Zhu H, Tu H, Xue J, Cheng Z. Eight novel brominated flame retardants in indoor and outdoor dust samples from the E-waste recycling industrial park: Implications for human exposure. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 238:117172. [PMID: 37729961 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
As alternatives for legacy brominated flame retardants, novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) have a wide array of applications in the electronic and electrical fields. The shift of recycling modes of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) from informal recycling family workshop to formal recycling facilities might come with the change the chemical landscape emitted including NBFRs, however, little information is known about this topic. This study investigated the occurrence characteristics, distribution, and exposure profiles of eight common NBFRs and their derivatives in an e-waste recycling industrial park in central China and illustrated the differences in various functional zones in the recycling park. The highest level of ΣNBFRs in dust samples was found in e-waste storage area at median concentration of 27,400 ng/g, followed by e-waste dismantling workshops (23,300 ng/g), workshop outdoor area (7770 ng/g), and residential area outdoor (536 ng/g). In the e-waste dismantling associated dust samples, tetrabromobisphenol A bis(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-BDBPE), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and 2,4,6-tris(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TTBP-TAZ) were the predominant components. This paper presented the first evidence regarding the occurrence characteristic and distribution of tetrabromobisphenol S (TBBPS), tetrabromobisphenol A bismethyl ether (TBBPA-BME) and tetrabromobisphenol S bis(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPS-BDBPE) in the e-waste associated dust samples. By comparing with previous studies performed in China, this paper also noticed the significant decrease of TBBPA concentrations in the dust probably due to the shift of e-wastes sources and recycling modes. We further assessed the risk of occupational workers exposure to NBFRs. The median EDI (estimated daily intake) value of ΣNBFRs among e-waste dismantling workers was 9.71 ng/kg BW/d with the maximum EDI value being 19.6 ng/kg BW/d, hundreds of times higher than those exposed by general population. The study raises great concern for the health risk of occupational exposure to NBFRs in the e-waste recycling industrial park.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongyin Lan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yuxian Liu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Water Quality Security and Protection in Pearl River Delta, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yanpeng Cai
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Qingping Du
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Hongkai Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Haitao Tu
- Division of Nephrology, The First affiliated hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jingchuan Xue
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China.
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30
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Ge J, Du B, Shen M, Feng Z, Zeng L. A review of liquid crystal monomers: Environmental occurrence, degradation, toxicity, and human exposure of an emerging class of E-waste pollutants. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 335:122267. [PMID: 37499966 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are a class of organic compounds with diphenyl or dicyclohexane as the skeleton structure, which are widely used in the manufacturing of liquid crystal displays. They are recognized as novel organic compounds with persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and potential for long-range transport. LCMs are inevitably released into the environment throughout the life cycle of electronic products, and their presence has been found in various abiotic matrixes (air, dust, sediment, leachate, soil) and biotic matrixes (aquatic organisms, human serum, and human skin wipe). Given that studies on LCMs are still in their infancy, this review comprehensively summarizes the extensive literature data on LCMs and identifies key knowledge gaps and future research needs. The physicochemical properties, production, and usage of LCMs are described. Their environmental distribution, degradation, toxicity, and human exposure are also discussed based on the available data and results. Existing data show that LCMs have large-scale environmental pollution and may pose potential ecological and health risks, but it is still insufficient to accurately assess their risks due to the lack of knowledge on LCMs in many areas, such as global contamination trend, environmental behavior, toxic effects, and human exposure assessment. We believe that future studies of LCMs need to investigate LCMs pollution on a large geographic scale, explore their sources, behavior, and fate in the environment, and assess their potential health hazards to organisms and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiali Ge
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China
| | - Bibai Du
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China
| | - Mingjie Shen
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China
| | - Zhiqing Feng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China
| | - Lixi Zeng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China.
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Shi Y, Zhao L, Zhu H, Cheng Z, Luo H, Sun H. Co-occurrence of phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers in dust and hand wipes: A comparison of levels across various sources. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 459:132271. [PMID: 37582303 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
E-waste dismantlers' occupational exposure to plasticizers, particularly non-phthalate (NPAE) plasticizers, is poorly understood. This study monitored 11 phthalates (PAEs) and 16 NPAEs in dust and hand wipe samples from Central China e-waste workplace and ordinary homes. Concentrations of plasticizers in dust from e-waste dismantling workshops (median: 217 μg/g) were significantly lower than that from ordinary homes (462 μg/g; p < 0.01), however, the trend was similar but not significant in hand wipes from these two scenarios (50.2 vs. 72.3 μg/m2; p = 0.139). PAEs were still the dominant plasticizers, which is, on average, 5.46 and 3.58-fold higher than NPAEs. In all samples, di-(2ethylhexyl) phthalate (65.4%) and tri-octyl trimellitate (44.9%) were the most common PAE and NPAE plasticizers. Increasing dust concentrations of di-iso-nonyl ester 1,2-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid, citrates and sebacates were significantly associated with their levels in worker's hand wipe, by contrast, this trend was not found in general population. Dust ingestion was the main channel, followed by hand-to-mouth contact, all participants' daily plasticizer intakes (median: 154 ng/kg bw/day) are within safety limits. Our work highlights knowledge gaps about co-exposure to PAEs and NPAEs by multiple pathways in occupational e-waste workers, which could provide baseline data in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumeng Shi
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Leicheng Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongkai Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
| | - Haining Luo
- Department of Center for Reproductive Medicine, Tianjin Central Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tianjin 300100, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
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Song S, Cai L, Liu Y, Peng Z, Liu C, Jiao H, Li P, Liu Q, Yu M, Zhou T, Zhang Q, Hollert H, Zhao X, Jiang G. Development of a solubility parameter calculation-based method as a complementary tool to traditional techniques for indoor dust microplastic determination and risk assessment. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 459:132189. [PMID: 37557042 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Herein, a method based on solubility parameter calculation was first used to analyze microplastics in indoor dust. The limit of quantification (LOQ) reached 0.2 mg/g, and the result of reference material SRM 2585 (n = 3) was 14.8 mg/g ± 1.8 %, suggesting satisfying sensitivity and precision. Recoveries of spiking experiments were > 80 % with no obvious matrix interferences observed, except ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) MPs. Further, 69 indoor dust samples were analyzed to verify the method and to assess exposure scenarios for graduate students in Tianjin, China. EPDM was identified in an indoor environment for the first time as the second most widely detected type after PET in this work. The mass-based result is complementary to the outcomes from thermogravimetric analysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and laser direct infrared imaging. Significant correlations were found between total organic carbon (TOC), microplastics, and BDE-209 concentrations, indicating microplastics important contaminant vectors in indoor dust. Dormitory stays and PET contributed the most to health risks among the three exposure scenarios and detected four polymers, respectively. This work provides an approach with the potential for the standardized determination of microplastics in complex environmental matrices and reveals exposure characteristics of indoor dust microplastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanjun Song
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China; Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China.
| | - Limei Cai
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China; Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Yuhui Liu
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Zijuan Peng
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Chunyu Liu
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China; Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Hui Jiao
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Penghui Li
- Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Qian Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Miao Yu
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
| | - Tao Zhou
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Qinghe Zhang
- National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Henner Hollert
- Department for Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main 60438, Germany
| | - Xingchen Zhao
- Department for Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main 60438, Germany.
| | - Guibin Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
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Jin Q, Fan Y, Lu Y, Zhan Y, Sun J, Tao D, He Y. Liquid crystal monomers in ventilation and air conditioning dust: Indoor characteristics, sources analysis and toxicity assessment. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2023; 180:108212. [PMID: 37738697 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Indoor dust contaminated with liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) released from various commercial liquid crystal display (LCD) screens may pose environmental health risks to humans. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of 64 LCMs in ventilation and air conditioning filters (VACF) dust, characterize their composition profiles, potential sources, and associations with indoor characteristics, and assess their in vitro toxicity using the human lung bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). A total of 31 LCMs with concentrations (ΣLCMs) ranging from 43.7 ng/g to 448 ng/g were detected in the collected VACF dust. Additional analysis revealed the potential interactions between indoor environmental conditions and human exposure risks associated with the detected LCMs in VACF dust. The service area and working time of the ventilation and air conditioning system, and the number of indoor LCD screens were positively correlated with the fluorinated ΣLCMs in VACF dust (r = 0.355 ∼ 0.511, p < 0.05), while the associations with the non-fluorinated ΣLCMs were not found (p > 0.05), suggesting different environmental behavior and fates of fluorinated and non-fluorinated LCMs in the indoor environment. Four main indoor sources of LCMs (i.e., computer (37.1%), television (28.3%), Brand A smartphone (21.2%) and Brand S smartphone (13.4%)) were identified by positive matrix factorization-multiple linear regression (PMF-MLR). Exposure to 14 relatively frequently detected LCMs, individually and in the mixture, induced significant oxidative stress in BEAS-2B cells. Among them, non-fluorinated LCMs, specifically 3cH2B and MeP3bcH, caused dominant decreased cell viability. This study provides new insights into the indoor LCMs pollution and the associated potential health risks due to the daily use of electronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianqian Jin
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Yinzheng Fan
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yichun Lu
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yuting Zhan
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jiaji Sun
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Danyang Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yuhe He
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China.
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Zhou J, Zuo S, Wang Y, An R, Zheng S, Cao L, Zhang F, Jin Y, Shen J, Meng H, Zheng X, Wang C, Shi H, Zhao Y, Giesy JP, Zhang K, Dai J. Prioritization of risks posed by synthetic chemicals manufactured in China toward humans and the environment via persistence, bioaccumulation, mobility and toxicity properties. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2023; 178:108042. [PMID: 37399767 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Over a third of the global chemical production and sales occurred in China, which make effective assessment and management for chemicals produced by China's chemical industry essential not just for China but for the world. Here, we systematical assessed the persistence (P), bioaccumulation (B), mobility (M) and toxicity (T) potency properties for the chemicals listed in Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances of China (IECSC) via experimental data retrieved from large scale databases and in silico data generated with well-established models. Potential PBT, PMT and PB&MT substances were identified. High risk potentials were highlighted for groups of synthetic intermediates, raw materials, as well as a series of biocides. The potential PBT and PMT synthetic intermediates and/or raw materials unique to the IECSC were dominated with organofluorines, for example, the intermediates used as electronic light-emitting materials. Meanwhile, the biocides unique to the IECSC were mainly organochlorines. Some conventional classes of insecticides, such as organochlorines and pyrethroids, were classified as being of high concern. We further identified a group of PB&MT substances that were considered to be both "bioaccumulative" and "mobile". Their properties and common substructures for several major clusters were characterized. The present results prioritized groups of substances with high potentials to cause adverse effects to the environment and humans, many of which have not yet been fully recognized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhou
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Shaoqi Zuo
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yang Wang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Ruiqi An
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Shuping Zheng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Lingzhi Cao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Fan Zhang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yiheng Jin
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jing Shen
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Haoyu Meng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xuehan Zheng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Congcong Wang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Haochun Shi
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yanbin Zhao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA; Department of Integrative Biology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Kun Zhang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jiayin Dai
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
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Hou S, Liu Y, Chen T, Zhou D, Zhang M, Li Y, Bai Y, Zheng S, Yang S, Zhang G, Xu H. Tunable Fluorine-Functionalized Scholl-Coupled Microporous Polymer for the Selective Adsorption and Ultrasensitive Analysis of Environmental Liquid-Crystal Monomers. Anal Chem 2023. [PMID: 37433191 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c00182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
Liquid-crystal monomers (LCMs), especially fluorinated biphenyls and analogues (FBAs), are identified to be an emerging generation of persistent organic pollutants. However, there is a dearth of information about their occurrence and distribution in environmental water and lacustrine soil samples. Herein, a series of fluorine-functionalized Scholl-coupled microporous polymers (FSMP-X, X = 1-3) were designed and synthesized for the highly efficient and selective enrichment of FABs. Their hydrophobicity, porosity, chemical stability, and adsorption performance (capacity, rate, and selectivity) were regulated preciously. The best-performing material (FSMP-2) was employed as the on-line fluorous solid-phase extraction (on-line FSPE) adsorbent owing to its high adsorption capacity (313.68 mg g-1), fast adsorption rate (1.05 g h-1), and specific selectivity for FBAs. Notably, an enrichment factor of up to 590.2 was obtained for FSMP-2, outperforming commercial C18 (12.6-fold). Also, the underlying adsorption mechanism was uncovered by density functional theory calculations and experiments. Based on this, a novel and automated on-line FSPE-high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for ultrasensitive (detection limits: 0.0004-0.0150 ng mL-1) and low matrix effect (73.79-113.3%) determination of LCMs in lake water and lacustrine soils. This study offers new insight into the highly selective quantification of LCMs and the first evidence for their occurrence and distribution in these environmental samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shenghuai Hou
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Tiantian Chen
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Dandan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Manlin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Yan Li
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Yuxuan Bai
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Shuang Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Shu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Ganbing Zhang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Hui Xu
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide & Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
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Jin Q, Yu J, Fan Y, Zhan Y, Tao D, Tang J, He Y. Release Behavior of Liquid Crystal Monomers from Waste Smartphone Screens: Occurrence, Distribution, and Mechanistic Modeling. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37369363 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c09602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal display (LCD) screens can release many organic pollutants into the indoor environment, including liquid crystal monomers (LCMs), which have been proposed as a novel class of emerging pollutants. Knowing the release pathways and mechanisms of LCMs from various components of LCD screens is important to accurately assess the LCM release and reveal their environmental transport behavior and fate in the ambient environment. A total of 47, 43, and 33 out of 64 target LCMs were detected in three disassembled parts of waste smartphone screens, including the LCM layer (LL), light guide plate (LGP), and screen protector (SP), respectively. Correlation analysis confirmed LL was the source of LCMs detected in LGP and SP. The emission factors of LCMs from waste screen, SP, and LGP parts were estimated as 2.38 × 10-3, 1.36 × 10-3, and 1.02 × 10-3, respectively. A mechanism model was developed to describe the release behaviors of LCMs from waste screens, where three characteristics parameters of released LCMs, including average mass proportion (AP), predicted subcooled vapor pressures (PL), and octanol-air partitioning coefficients (Koa), involving coexistence of absorption and adsorption mechanisms, could control the diffusion-partitioning. The released LCMs in LGP could reach diffusion-partition equilibrium more quickly than those in SP, indicating that LCM release could be mainly governed through SP diffusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianqian Jin
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Jianxin Yu
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yinzheng Fan
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yuting Zhan
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Danyang Tao
- Department of Chemistry and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jingchun Tang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yuhe He
- School of Energy and Environment and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China
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Zhao L, Zhu H, Cheng Z, Shi Y, Zhang Q, Wang Y, Sun H. Co-occurrence and distribution of organophosphate tri- and di-esters in dust and hand wipes from an e-waste dismantling plant in central China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 878:163176. [PMID: 37003336 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling facilities are a well-known source of emerging contaminants including organophosphate esters (OPEs). However, little information is available regarding the release characteristics and co-contaminations of tri- and di-esters. This study, therefore, investigated a broad range of tri- and di-OPEs in dust and hand wipe samples collected from an e-waste dismantling plant and homes as comparison. The median ∑tri-OPE and ∑di-OPE levels in dust and hand wipe samples were approximately 7- and 2-fold higher than those in the comparison group, respectively (p < 0.01). Triphenyl phosphate (median: 11,700 ng/g and 4640 ng/m2) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (median: 5130 ng/g and 940 ng/m2) were the dominant components of tri- and di-OPEs, respectively. The combination of Spearman rank correlations and the determinations of molar concentration ratios of di-OPEs to tri- OPEs revealed that apart from the degradation of tri-OPEs, di-OPEs could originate from direct commercial application, or as impurities in tri-OPE formulas. Significant positive correlations (p < 0.05) were found for most tri- and di-OPE levels between the dust and hand wipes from dismantling workers, whereas this was not observed in those from the ordinary microenvironment. Our results provide robust evidence that e-waste dismantling activities contribute to OPEs contamination in the surroundings and further human exposure pathways and toxicokinetics are needed to be elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leicheng Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongkai Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yumeng Shi
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Qiuyue Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yu Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
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Zhao L, Cheng Z, Zhu H, Chen H, Yao Y, Baqar M, Yu H, Qiao B, Sun H. Electronic-waste-associated pollution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Environmental occurrence and human exposure. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 451:131204. [PMID: 36931218 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Occupational exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is of serious concern because their adverse health effects. Nevertheless, knowledge regarding contamination in e-waste dismantling regions is rather scarce. We therefore analysed seven neutral PFASs (n-PFASs) and forty ionized PFASs (i-PFASs) in dust and hand wipes collected from an e-waste dismantling plant and homes. Both dust (1370 ng/g) and workers' hand wipe (1100 ng/m2) in e-waste dismantling workshops contained significantly higher median levels of ∑PFASs than those from homes (684 ng/g and 444 ng/m2) (p < 0.01). ∑PFAS concentrations in dust and on workers' hand wipes from workshops were significantly higher than those from storage area. 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol was the dominant n-PFAS in workshop dust (70.7%) and on worker's hand wipes (46.6%). Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (C2 -C3) were the significant components (based on concentration) of i-PFASs in dust (57.9%) and on hand wipes (89.6%). A significant positive correlation (p < 0.001) of ∑PFAS concentrations between workshop dust and workers' hand wipes was observed, indicating that they come from common sources. Compared to dust ingestion, hand-to-mouth contact was highlighted as a vital exposure route, accounting for 68.8% for workers and 72.2% for residential population, respectively, of the sum of two exposure doses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leicheng Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
| | - Hongkai Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hao Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yiming Yao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Mujtaba Baqar
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hao Yu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Biting Qiao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
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Yang R, Wang X, Niu Y, Chen X, Shao B. Fluorinated liquid-crystal monomers in paired breast milk and indoor dust: A pilot prospective study. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2023; 176:107993. [PMID: 37263127 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Fluorinated liquid-crystal monomers (FLCMs), one class of emerging persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) compounds, are widely used in liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). As a result, they have been found in the environment and serum from occupational workers. However, little is known about their occurrence in non-occupational exposing populations. Herein, we provided an evaluation of the health risks of FLCMs for infants based on breastfeeding exposure and dust ingestion. The detection frequencies (DF) of FLCMs in indoor dust and breast milk was 100 %, with median concentrations of 12.00 ng/g dry weight (dw) and 133.40 ng/g lipid weight (lw), respectively. 1-butoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl)benzene (BDPrB) was the predominant pollutant in indoor dust and human breast milk. Significant positive correlations were observed between the dust concentrations of seven FLCMs including BDPrB, and their breast milk concentrations (r = 0.275-0.660, P < 0.05). Further, associations were also found in some demographic and behavioral factors and concentrations of some FLCMs (P < 0.05). The highest EDI of ∑FLCMs was observed for infants who were < 1 month of age, with a median breast milk intake of 700.35 ng/kg bw/day, in which 1-ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl)benzene (EDPrB), BDPrB, and 4'-[(trans, trans)-4'-butyl[1,1'-bicyclohexyl]-4-yl]-3,4-difluoro-1,1'-biphenyl (BBDB) collectively contributed 94.4 % of the total EDIs. Notably, the lactational intake of FLCMs was higher than that of some environmental pollutants (EPs). Overall, our results suggest higher exposure risks for infants and breastfeeding is the predominant exposure route for daily intake of FLCMs for infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runhui Yang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xinyi Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Yumin Niu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Xianggui Chen
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
| | - Bing Shao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China; School of Food and Biological Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China.
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Yang R, Wang X, Gao Q, Sang C, Zhao Y, Niu Y, Shao B. Dietary Exposure and Health Risk of the Emerging Contaminant Fluorinated Liquid-Crystal Monomers. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:6309-6319. [PMID: 37010985 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Fluorinated liquid-crystal monomers (FLCMs) widely used in liquid crystal displays are considered to be a new generation of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic contaminants. They have been widely detected in the environment. However, little is known about their occurrence in food and human dietary exposure until now. Herein, we provided an evaluation of dietary exposure and health risks of FLCMs in the Chinese adult population based on the fifth and sixth total diet studies (TDSs). The detection frequencies of FLCMs in the two surveys were 90.5 and 99.5%, with concentrations ranging from not detected ∼72.6 μg/kg wet weight (ww) and ND ∼74.7 μg/kg ww, respectively. All TDS samples contained the multiresidue of FLCMs. The mean estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of FLCMs were 172.86 and 163.10 ng/kg bw/day in the fifth and sixth TDS, respectively. Meats, vegetables, and cereals contributed the most to the EDI of FLCMs. According to the threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) method, the EDIs of 1-fluoro-4-[2-(4-propylphenyl)ethynyl]benzene (4.56 and 3.26 ng/kg bw/day) and 2-fluoro-4-[4'-propyl-1,1'-bi(cyclohexyl)-4-yl]phenyl trifluoromethyl ether (3.12 and 3.28 ng/kg bw/day) were above their TTC value (2.5 ng/kg bw/day), suggesting their potential health risk. This is the first comprehensive national dietary exposure assessment of FLCMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runhui Yang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xinyi Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Qun Gao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Chenhui Sang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Yunfeng Zhao
- NHC Key Laboratory of Food Safety Risk Assessment, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100021, China
| | - Yumin Niu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Bing Shao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
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Kong Y, Wen Y, Su G, Peng Y, Cui X. Tissue-specific uptake and distribution of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in mice. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2023; 174:107894. [PMID: 37003217 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicated that liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in liquid crystal displays can be released into the environment, and ubiquitously detected in environmental matrices and even human bodies. Yet databases regarding its uptake and distribution in mammals are lacking. In this study, four LCMs (namely 3dFB, 2OdF3B, 2teFT, and 6OCB) with various physiochemical properties and structures were selected as the target compounds. The LCMs were in vivo and in vitro exposed to mice and rat liver microsomes (RLM). LCMs were found in all mouse tissues, including brain. Pharmacokinetics parameters, Cmax-tissue/Cmax-blood, ranged from 27.5 to 214, indicating the preferential deposition of LCMs to tissues rather than blood. The LCMs distributed preferentially to lipophilic tissues, and relative mass contribution of LCMs from liver and adipose was 43-98 %. The physicochemical properties (i.e., Kow, molecular weight, and functional groups) had pronounced effect on distribution and accumulation of LCMs. The 2teFT with the highest Kow and molecular weight showed the relatively higher accumulation potential and half elimination time in all the tissues. The 6OCB containing cyano-group was more accumulative than the fluorinated 3dFB with the comparable Kow. In RLM assays, 2teFT and 6OCB were resistant to metabolic degradation. While 3dFB and 2OdF3B underwent rapid degradation with 93.7 % and 72.4 % being metabolized at 360 min. Findings in this study bear significant implications for the biomonitoring and overall risk evaluation of LCMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yong Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Guanyong Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Ying Peng
- Key Lab of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Xinyi Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
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Wang Y, Yang H, He W, Sun P, Zhao W, Liu M. Exploring the Potential Hormonal Effects of Tire Polymers (TPs) on Different Species Based on a Theoretical Computational Approach. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15071719. [PMID: 37050333 PMCID: PMC10097371 DOI: 10.3390/polym15071719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Tire polymers (TPs) are the most prevalent type of microplastics and are of great concern due to their potential environmental risks. This study aims to determine the toxicity of TPs with the help of molecular-dynamics simulations of their interactions with receptors and to highlight the differences in the toxicity characteristics of TPs in different environmental media (marine environment, freshwater environment, soil environment). For this purpose, five TPs—natural rubber, styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR), butadiene rubber, nitrile–butadiene rubber, and isobutylene–isoprene rubber—were analyzed. Molecular-dynamics calculations were conducted on their binding energies to neurotoxic, developmental, and reproductive receptors of various organisms to characterize the toxic effects of the five TPs. The organisms included freshwater species (freshwater nematodes, snails, shrimp, and freshwater fish), marine species (marine nematodes, mussels, crab, and marine fish), and soil species (soil nematodes, springtails, earthworms, and spiders). A multilevel empowerment method was used to determine the bio-toxicity of the TPs in various environmental media. A coupled-normalization method–principal-component analysis–factor-analysis weighting method—was used to calculate the weights of the TP toxicity (first level) categories. The results revealed that the TPs were the most biologically neurotoxic to three environmental media (20.79% and 10.57% higher compared with developmental and reproductive toxicity, respectively). Regarding the effects of TPs on organisms in various environmental media (second level), using a subjective empowerment approach, a gradual increase in toxicity was observed with increasing trophic levels due to the enrichment of TPs and the feeding behavior of organisms. TPs had the greatest influence in the freshwater-environment organisms according to the subjective empowerment approach employed to weight the three environmental media (third level). Therefore, using the minimum-value method coupled with the feature-aggregation method, the interval-deflation method coupled with the entropy-weighting method, and the standard-deviation normalization method, the three toxicity characteristics of SBR in three environmental media and four organisms were determined. SBR was found to have the greatest impact on the overall toxicity of the freshwater environment (12.38% and 9.33% higher than the marine and soil environments, respectively). The greatest contribution to neurotoxicity (26.01% and 15.95% higher than developmental and reproductive toxicity, respectively) and the greatest impact on snails and shrimp among organisms in the freshwater environment were observed. The causes of the heterogeneity of SBR’s toxicity were elucidated using amino-acid-residue analysis. SBR primarily interacted with toxic receptors through van der Waals, hydrophobic, π-π, and π-sigma interactions, and the more stable the binding, the more toxic the effect. The toxicity characteristics of TMPs to various organisms in different environments identified in this paper provide a theoretical basis for subsequent studies on the prevention and control of TMPs in the environment.
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Zhang S, Cheng Z, Yang M, Guo Z, Zhao L, Baqar M, Lu Y, Wang L, Sun H. Percutaneous Penetration of Liquid Crystal Monomers (LCMs) by In Vitro Three-Dimensional Human Skin Equivalents: Possible Mechanisms and Implications for Human Dermal Exposure Risks. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:4454-4463. [PMID: 36867107 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c07844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are indispensable materials in liquid crystal displays, which have been recognized as emerging persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic organic pollutants. Occupational and nonoccupational exposure risk assessment suggested that dermal exposure is the primary exposure route for LCMs. However, the bioavailability and possible mechanisms of dermal exposure to LCMs via skin absorption and penetration remain unclear. Herein, we used EpiKutis 3D-Human Skin Equivalents (3D-HSE) to quantitatively assess the percutaneous penetration of nine LCMs, which were detected in e-waste dismantling workers' hand wipes with high detection frequencies. LCMs with higher log Kow and greater molecular weight (MW) were more difficult to penetrate through the skin. Molecular docking results showed that ABCG2 (an efflux transporter) may be responsible for percutaneous penetration of LCMs. These results suggest that passive diffusion and active efflux transport may be involved in the penetration of LCMs across the skin barrier. Furthermore, the occupational dermal exposure risks evaluated based on the dermal absorption factor suggested the underestimation of the continuous LCMs' health risks via dermal previously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaohan Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Ming Yang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Zijin Guo
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Leicheng Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Mujtaba Baqar
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yuan Lu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Lei Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
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Wang X, Yang R, Zhang J, Chen X, Feng Y, Niu Y, Shao B. Metabolic profiling of the fluorinated liquid-crystal monomer 1-ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl)benzene. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 860:160448. [PMID: 36442634 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
1-Ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl)benzene (EDPrB) is a typical fluorinated liquid-crystal monomer (LCM). LCMs contaminants are becoming increasingly concerning due to their potential persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and broad prevalence in environmental and human samples. However, LCM metabolism is poorly understood. Herein, by introducing selected EDPrB into the appropriate liver microsomes in vitro, we examined the metabolic pathways of LCM in humans, rats, pigs, Cyprinus carpio, crucian carp, and Channa argus. A total of 20 species-dependent metabolites were identified and structurally elucidated by gas and liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry for the first time. Dealkylation, H-abstraction, and hydroxylation reactions are the primary metabolic pathways. Half of these in vitro metabolites were found in the urine, serum, and fecal samples of Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to EDPrB. Toxicity predictions indicate that 17 metabolites can be classified as toxic. According to the Ecological Structure Activity Relationships (ECOSAR), a number of metabolites exhibit equivalent or greater aquatic toxicity to that of EDPrB. Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (T.E.S.T.) predicts that some metabolites exhibit developmental toxicity and mutagenicity in rats. These findings suggest that biotransformation should be particularly emphasized, and more toxicological and monitoring studies should be performed to assess the ecological and human safety of LCMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Wang
- School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Runhui Yang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Xianggui Chen
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
| | - Ying Feng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Yumin Niu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China.
| | - Bing Shao
- School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; School of Food and Biological Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
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Bao Y, Zhu M, Su G. Tissue-specific accumulation, bioaccumulation, and depuration of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 859:160267. [PMID: 36402331 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the properties of bioaccumulation, tissue-specific accumulation, and depuration of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to a mixture of 39 LCMs for 19 days followed by depuration for 12 days. Tissue-specific accumulation of LCMs was examined at the time point of day 19, and we observed that the distribution of LCMs varied among different tissues with the following order of Σ39LCM concentrations, the intestine > brain > gill > liver > muscle. We also observed that the bioaccumulation potential of LCMs varied among LCM groups with different functional groups, and LCMs with the cyan group were prone to accumulate in zebrafish. Among the 39 target LCMs, nine exhibited bioconcentration factors (BCFs) >1000, indicating their great bioaccumulation potential in aquatic environments. The experimental BCFs of 22 LCMs in the present study were lower than the theoretical values predicted by the Estimation Programs Interface (EPI) Suite software developed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), suggesting that their bioaccumulation potential might be overestimated by theoretical estimation techniques. Another interesting finding was the significant positive correlation relationship in both sexes of zebrafish (p < 0.01, r2 = 0.66 for male; p < 0.01, r2 = 0.41 for female) between logBCFww and logKow values of LCMs. Overall, this study provides fundamental information regarding the bioaccumulation potentials of LCMs, which could be helpful for further investigating the health risks of LCMs in aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yurong Bao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Research Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ming Zhu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Research Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guanyong Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Research Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
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Zhong Y, Ren J, Li R, Xuan Y, Yao W, Yang Q, Gan Y, Yu S, Yuan J. Prediction of the Endocrine disruption profile of fluorinated biphenyls and analogues: An in silico study. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 314:137701. [PMID: 36587920 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Fluorinated biphenyls and their analogues (FBAs) are considered new persistent organic pollutants, but their endocrine-disrupting effects are still unknown. To fill this gap, the binding probability of 44 FBAs to different nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs) was predicted using Endocrine Disruptome. And molecular similarity and network toxicology analysis were used to strengthen the docking screening. The docking results showed that FBAs could have high binding potential for various NHRs, such as estrogen receptors β antagonism (ERβ an), liver X receptors α (LXRα), estrogen receptors α (ERα), and liver X receptors β (LXRβ). The similarity analysis found that the degree of overlap of the NHR repertoire was related to the Tanimoto coefficient of FBAs. Network toxicology verified a part of docking screening results and identified endocrine-disrupting pathways worthy of attention. This study found out potential endocrine-disrupting FBAs and their vulnerable, and developed a workflow that would leverage in silico approaches including molecular docking, similarity, and network toxicology for risk prioritization of potential endocrine-disrupting compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyan Zhong
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China
| | - Jing Ren
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China
| | - Rui Li
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China
| | - Yuxin Xuan
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China
| | - Wu Yao
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China
| | - Qianye Yang
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China
| | - Yin Gan
- Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immune-Engineering of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, 475004, PR China
| | - Shuling Yu
- Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immune-Engineering of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, 475004, PR China.
| | - Jintao Yuan
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China.
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Huang J, Xie G, Wei Q, Su Y, Xu X, Jiang Y. Degradable MXene-Doped Polylactic Acid Textiles for Wearable Biomonitoring. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:5600-5607. [PMID: 36563019 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c18395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Degradable wearable electronics offer a promising route to construct sustainable cities and reduced carbon society. However, the difficult functionalization and the poor stability of degradable sensitive materials dramatically restrict their application in personalized healthcare assessment. Herein, we developed a scalable, low-cost, and porosity degradable MXene-polylactic acid textile (DMPT) for on-body biomonitoring via electrospinning. A combination of polydimethylsiloxane templating and MXene flake impregnation methods endows the fabricated DMPT with a sensitivity of 5.37/kPa, a fast response time of 98 ms, and a good mechanical stability (over 6000 cycles). An efficient degradation of as-electrospun DMPTs was observed in 1 wt % sodium carbonate solution. It is found that the incorporation of MXene nanosheets boosts the hydrophilicity and degradation efficiency of active polylactic acid nanofibrous films in comparison with the pristine counterpart. Furthermore, the as-received DMPT demonstrates great capability in monitoring physiological activities of wrist pulse, knuckle bending, swallowing, and vocalization. This work opens up a new paradigm for developing and optimizing high-performance degradable on-body electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junlong Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Guangzhong Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Qikun Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Yuanjie Su
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Xiangdong Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Yadong Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
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Yin H, Chen R, Wang H, Schwarz C, Hu H, Shi B, Wang Y. Co-occurrence of phthalate esters and perfluoroalkyl substances affected bacterial community and pathogenic bacteria growth in rural drinking water distribution systems. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 856:158943. [PMID: 36155042 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The adverse health effects of phthalate esters (PAEs) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water have attracted considerable attention. Our study investigated the effects of PAEs and PFAS on the bacterial community and the growth of potential human pathogenic bacteria in rural drinking water distribution systems. Our results showed that the total concentration of PAEs and PFAS ranged from 1.02 × 102 to 1.65 × 104 ng/L, from 4.40 to 1.84 × 102 ng/L in rural drinking water of China, respectively. PAEs concentration gradually increased and PFAS slowly decreased along the pipeline distribution, compared to concentrations in the effluents of rural drinking water treatment plants. The co-occurrence of higher concentrations of PAEs and PFAS changed the structure and function of the bacterial communities found within these environments. The bacterial community enhanced their ability to respond to fluctuating environmental conditions through up-regulation of functional genes related to extracellular signaling and interaction, as well as genes related to replication and repair. Under these conditions, co-occurrence of PAEs and PFAS promoted the growth of potential human pathogenic bacteria (HPB), therefore increasing the risk of the development of associated diseases among exposed persons. The main HPB observed in this study included Burkholderia mallei, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Contaminants including particles, microorganisms, PAEs and PFAS were found to be released from corrosion scales and deposits of pipes and taps, resulting in the increase of the cytotoxicity and microbial risk of rural tap water. These results are important to efforts to improve the safety of rural drinking water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Yin
- Beijing Key Lab for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Ruya Chen
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang, China
| | - Haibo Wang
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
| | - Cory Schwarz
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston 77005, United States
| | - Haotian Hu
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Baoyou Shi
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yili Wang
- Beijing Key Lab for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
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49
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Li R, Ren K, Su H, Wei Y, Su G. Target and suspect analysis of liquid crystal monomers in soil from different urban functional zones. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 854:158408. [PMID: 36057313 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have reported the occurrence of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in sediment, indoor dust, hand wipes, and human serum samples; however, information regarding their contamination status in soil is currently unavailable. The concentrations of 39 target LCMs were determined in n = 96 surface soil samples collected from five different urban functional zones including agricultural, scenic, industrial, commercial, and residential zones. We observed that 76 of 96 surface soil samples contained at least 19, 13, 16, 19, and 14 of the 39 target LCMs that were detectable in samples from agricultural, scenic, industrial, commercial, and residential zones, respectively. The LCMs in the samples from the agricultural zone exhibited the highest mean concentrations of 12.9 ng/g dry weight (dw), followed by those from commercial (5.23 ng/g dw), residential (3.30 ng/g dw), industrial (2.48 ng/g dw), and scenic zones (0.774 ng/g dw). Furthermore, strong and statistically significant (p < 0.05) correlations were observed for several pairs of LCMs (3cH2B vs. 5bcHdFB in the agricultural zone; 5bcHdFB vs. 2bcHdFB, 5bcHdFB vs. 3cH2B in the commercial zone; 5bcHdFB vs. 2bcHdFB in the industrial zone), indicating that they might have similar commercial applications and sources. Based on a newly established database containing 1173 LCMs, suspect screening was applied to discover other LCMs in these 96 soil samples using gas chromatograph coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-QTOF/MS). We tentatively identified 51 LCM formulas with 69 chemical structures. Collectively, this study provides the first evidence for the occurrence of LCMs in soil samples, and suggests that LCMs could be widely distributed across all five urban functional zones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongrong Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China
| | - Kefan Ren
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China
| | - Huijun Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China
| | - Yu Wei
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China
| | - Guanyong Su
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China.
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50
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Li Y, Zhang T, Cheng Z, Zhang Q, Yang M, Zhao L, Zhang S, Lu Y, Sun H, Wang L. Direct evidence on occurrence of emerging liquid crystal monomers in human serum from E-waste dismantling workers: Implication for intake assessment. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 169:107535. [PMID: 36152360 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are widely used chemicals and ubiquitous emerging organic pollutants in the environment, some of which have persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic potentials. Elevated levels of LCMs have been found in the e-waste dismantling associated areas. However, information on their internal exposure bio-monitoring is scarce. For the first time, occurrences of LCMs were observed in the serum samples of occupational workers (n = 85) from an e-waste dismantling area in South China. Twenty-nine LCMs were detected in serum samples of the workers, with a median value of 35.2 ng/mL (range: 7.78-276 ng/mL). Eight noticed LCMs were found to have relatively high detection frequencies ranging from 52.9% to 96.5%. The correlation analysis of individual LCMs indicated potential common applications and similar sources to the LCMs in occupational workers. Fluorinated LCMs were identified as the predominant monomers in the workers. Additionally, the estimated daily intake of the LCMs in the occupational workers was significantly higher than those in residents from the reference areas (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U Test, median values: 1.46 ng/kg bw/day versus 0.40 ng/kg bw/day), indicating a substantially higher exposure level to e-waste dismantling workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhe Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, 135 Xingang West Street, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Zhipeng Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
| | - Qianru Zhang
- Institute of Agriculture Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
| | - Ming Yang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Leicheng Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Shaohan Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Yuan Lu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Hongwen Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Lei Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
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