Toxic transformation products

One shortcoming in many field studies is a failure to address adequately exposure to toxic transformation products. In efforts to manage time and cost constraints, the concentrations of parent materials and transformation products are often added together to produce a total toxic residue amount. However, it is more appropriate to evaluate individual transformation products as their toxicity may be significantly increased (e.g. active oxons) or decreased (e.g. dehalogenation or dealkylation products) relative to the parent compound. 

Chemical characteristics and environmental conditions will influence the design of fleld studies to assess distributions of occurrence and exposure." Important chemical characteristics of the test substance include water solubility. Aloe, vapor pressure, degradation rate and potentially labile functional groups. These characteristics also need to be known for toxicologically important fiansformation products. One shortcoming in many fleld studies is a failure to address adequately exposure to toxic transformation products. 

Data presentations should include the parent compound and all toxic transformation products. This is particularly important for oxidation of sulfide linkages to sulfoxides or sulfones. These products are often equally toxic to the parent with increased availability. Attention should also be given to oxidative desulfuration of phosphorothionate esters. 

Keywords Degradation, Pharmaceuticals, Toxicity, Transformation products, White-rot fungi... 

The POCs include, but are certainly not limited to the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the organochlorine pesticides, including those in current use, restricted use and historic use brominated flame retardants including polybrominated diphenyl ethers PAHs and the sometimes more toxic transformation products of these chemicals. Table 1 summarizes information on some of the POCs more commonly detected in alpine environments. 

The multiplicity of abiotic transformation products which have been detected for aminocarb has prompted a comparison of the anticholinesterase activity, in vivo insect toxicity and relative volatility of a series of oxidation products. Successive oxidations of the aryldimethylamino group resulted in increased toxicity whereas oxidation of the arylmethyl group or of the carbamate N-methyl group considerably reduced toxicity. Saturated vapour concentrations of the toxic transformation products were only slightly lower than the parent carbamate. 

Concentrations of WA and their toxic transformation products, formed both as a result of technological processes associated with CW destruction and WA intake in the environment, should first be measured in regions of CW production, testing, storage and destruction as well as in their background areas. 

Relative safety standards regulating the maximum permissible concentration of warfare agents and, especially, their toxic transformation products in environment and living organisms either are not yet developed or are being developed extremely slowly. 

The metaboHsm of a material may result in the formation of a transformation product of lower intrinsic toxicity than the parent molecule ie, a process of detoxification has occurred. In other cases, the end result is a metaboHte, or metaboHtes, of intrinsically greater toxicity than the parent molecule, ie, metaboHc activation has occurred. Some examples of detoxification and metaboHc-activation processes are given in Table 2. 

It is important to appreciate that the magnitude of the absorbed dose, the relative amounts of bio transformation product, and the distribution and elimination of metaboUtes and parent compound seen with a single exposure, may be modified by repeated exposures. For example, repeated exposure may enhance mechanisms responsible for biotransformation of the absorbed material, and thus modify the relative proportions of the metaboUtes and parent molecule, and thus the retention pattern of these materials. Clearly, this could influence the likelihood for target organ toxicity. Additionally, and particularly when there is a slow excretion rate, repeated exposures may increase the possibiUty for progressive loading of tissues and body fluids, and hence the potential for cumulative toxicity. 

ZEA resembles the human 17P-oestradiol hormone produced by theovaries. Although almost non-toxic, in very small doses it has oestrogenic effects that can disrupt the human endocrine system (Benbrook, 2005). It is important to note that transformation products of ZEA can have three to four times higher endocrine disrupting activity than ZEA. 

Lo Piparo E., Fratev, F., Mazzatorta, P., Smiesko, M., Fritz, J.I., Benfenati, E. (2006). QSAR Models for Daphnia magna toxicity prediction of Benzoxazinone allelochemicals and their transformation products. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 54 1111-1115. 

Monitoring programs should focus not only on parent compounds but also on metabolites (i.e., conjugates). Moreover, attention should be paid on elucidating the transformation products generated after wastewater treatment and on evaluating their toxicity. 

Environmental fate Chemicals released in the environment are suscephble to several degradahon pathways, including chemical (i.e., hydrolysis, oxidation, reduction, dealkylahon, dealkoxylation, decarboxylahon, methylation, isomerization, and conjugation), photolysis or photooxidahon and biodegradation. Compounds transformed by one or more of these processes may result in the formation of more toxic or less toxic substances. In addihon, the transformed product(s) will behave differently from the parent compound due to changes in their physicochemical properties. Many researchers focus their attention on transformahon rates rather than the transformahon products. Consequently, only limited data exist on the transitional and resultant end products. Where available, compounds that are transformed into identified products as weh as environmental fate rate constants and/or half-lives are listed. 

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