Mercury binding

Biester H., Scholz C. Determination of mercury binding forms in contaminated soils Mercury pyrolysis versus sequential extractions. Environ Sci Technol 1997 31 233-239. 

Barghigiani, C., D. Pellegrini, and E. Carpene. 1989. Mercury binding proteins in liver and muscle of flat fish from the northern Tyrrhenian Sea. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 94C 309-312. 

While studying the binding of mercury by chromatin of rats injected with mercuric chloride, the nonhistone chromatin proteins in rat and kidney cell nuclei were shown to be mainly responsible for the mercury deposition [43]. The mercury-binding nonhistone proteins were found to be heterogeneous by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 

Elemental mercury is oxidized in vivo to inorganic mercury, a bio transformation that is probably catalyzed by catalase. It is selectively accumulated in the kidney and also by lysosomes. Inorganic mercury (Hg2+) will induce the synthesis of metallothionein. Mercury binds to cellular components such as enzymes in various organelles, especially to proteins containing sulfydryl groups. Thus, in the liver, cysteine and GSH will react with mercury to produce soluble products, which can be secreted into the bile or blood. 

High affinity of gold to mercury provides a simple way for the development of chemical sensors for mercury vapour. A number of transducers can be used for detection of mercury binding to gold all of them are based on exploitation of thin gold layers with a thickness from about 10 to about 100 nm. 

Mercury binding leads to an increase of mass of the gold layer which can be detected by electro-acoustic transducers based on quartz microbalance (QMB the abbreviation QCM = quartz crystal microbalance is also widely used), surface acoustic waves (SAW)—devices [20] or microcantilevers [21,22], Adsorption of mercury vapour increases resonance frequency of shear vibrations of piezoelectric quartz crystals (Fig. 12.2). This process can be described by Sauerbrey equation [23]. For typical AT-cut quartz, this equation is... 

Inorganic mercury salts, however, are primarily nephrotoxicants, with the site of action being the proximal tubular cells. Mercury binds to SH groups of membrane proteins, affecting the integrity of the membrane and resulting in aliguria, anuria, and uremia. 

Mercury. Mercury exerts its principle nephrotoxic effect on the membrane of the proximal tubule cell. In low concentrations, mercury binds to the sulfhydryl groups of membrane proteins and acts as a diuretic by inhibiting sodium reabsorption. Organomer-curial diuretics were introduced into clinical practice in the 1920s and were used... 

Cramer, F., Sprinzl, R., Furgac, N Freist, W., Saenger, W., Manor, P, Sprinzll, L. and Stemback, H. (1974). Crystallization of yeast phenylalanine transfer RNA polymorphism and smdies of sulfur-substimted mercury binding derivatives. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 349, 351-65. [19]... 

Benoit J. M., Mason R. P., Gilmour C. C., and Aiken G. R. (2001c) Constants for mercury binding by dissolved organic matter isolates from the Florida Everglades. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65(24), 4445-4451. 

The divalent cation exists in both a nondiffusible form (tissues) and a diffusible form (blood) (Halbach and Clarkson 1978 Magos 1967) (see Section 2.3.2). The mechanism for the distribution of mercury and its compounds probably depends on the extent of uptake of the diffusible forms into different tissues or on the mercury-binding to protein-binding sites (sulfhydryl groups) in red cells and plasma proteins (Clarkson 1972b). 

Vogel DG, Margolis RL, Mottet NK. 1985. The effects of methyl mercury binding to microtubules. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 80 473-486. 

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