R. E. Baby, A. Bucari, M. Cabezas and N. E. Walsöe de Reca
PRINSO (PRograma de INvestigaciones en SOlidos)
CITEFA-CONICET
Zufriategui 4380. Villa Martelli (1603) Buenos Aires
Abstract
The advances in the technology of multisensors arrays and
neural computation allow the development of the "electronic noses"
which can discriminate compounds by their odours playing a fundamental role in
the quality control of food, packaging, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,
chemicals, textil fibres, etc as well as in the field of the environmental
monitoring.
In this work, the MOSES II (MOdular SEnsor System)
"electronic nose" was employed. Each module of sensors is a
self-contained unit which can be exchanged by the user since there is not an
unique or ideal sensor system. Contrary to the classical analysis tools as gas
chromatography or mass spectrography, the MOSES II does not attempt to separate
a gas mixture into its individual components, rather, a "fingerprint"
of an odour is taken. The equipment is particularly suitable for objective and
reproducible odour comparison.
The aim of this paper was to discriminate low concentrations
(ppm) of lindane and nitrobenzene in water by the odour since contaminating
residues of insecticides and the leather manufacture industry (phenols,
nitrobenzene, anilines) are often thrown into streams or rivers in spite of
generating a real danger for the population health and for the survivence of
fishes and plants. Combining the odour detection with chemical analysis, it was
possible to "calibrate" the equipment response and to obtain also a
quantitative "discrimination" of contaminants.
Biorestoration
of PCB and Lindane Contaminated Soil.
T. PHILLIPS1*,
L.A. BEAUDETTE2, K. SHAW1, A. SEECH1, H. LEE2
AND J.T. TREVORS.2 1Grace Bioremediation Technologies,
Mississauga, Ontario and 2University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario.
Email: tphillip@uogeulph.ca
Polychlorinated
biphenyl- (PCB) and hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha, beta, delta-HCH; gamma-HCH or
Lindane) were tested for their biodegradability in contaminated soils using
Grace Bioremediation Technologies patented soil amendment technology. Soil
microcosms were prepare in mason jars with the soil being cycled through oxic/anoxic
cycles.
--HCH-contaminated soil amended with Daramend® technology
and Fe resulted in a total HCH loss of 92%. Forty percent greater then the
control.
--Lindane (gamma-HCH), a known persistent pesticide, was
reduced by 95% in the total HCH loss.
--No significant loss of PCBs was observed using Grace
Bioremediation Technologies patented amendment technology as compared to the
controls.
Servicos de Toxicologia Forense Instituto de Medicina Legal de Coimbra,
Largo da Sé Nova, 3000 Coimbra, Portugal
Lindane (g-hexachlorocyclohexane) is a
organochlorine insecticide. Acute intoxications by this pesticide are not
frequent in Portugal.
This paper describes analytical methods for lindane determination in biological
samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC/ECD) and mass
spectrometry detection (GC/MSD). A liquid-liquid extraction was performed. The
purification was performed using different solvents and by chromatography
column. The limit of detection was approximately 0.001 µg/mL or 0.01 µg/g by
GC/ECD and 0.01 µg/mL or 0.1 µg/g by GC/MSD. The recoveries ranged from 70.1
to 89.2%, and the coefficients of variation were generally below 5% by GC/ECD
and 10% by GC/MSD. This method was used in toxicological analyses performed in
the fatal poisoning of a woman. Lindane concentrations were 16.4 µg/g, 1.61
µg/mL, 1.90 µg/g and 1.92 µg/g for stomach, blood, liver and kidney,
respectively.
In cases of acute poisoning it is not necessary to use the GC/ECD technique,
that required cleanest extracts in spite of this method has shown more
precision.
GAMMA-HCH &/OR METABOLITES WERE DETERMINED IN MICROBIAL CULTURES, URINE,
TISSUES & HUMAN BLOOD BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY. NITROGEN WAS CARRIER GAS, FLAME
IONIZATION & ELECTRON CAPTURE DETECTORS WERE USED.
EGGS BY GC/THERMIONIC DETECTION: FINSTERWALDER CE; J ASSOC OFF ANAL CHEM 59:
169 (1976). RAT SERUM BY PC, GC/ECD, DETECTION LIMIT 15 NG/L: FRANKEN JJ, LUYTEN
BJM; J ASSOC OFF ANAL CHEM 59: 1279 (1976). TOXNET
Recently, our laboratory identified the important role the ovary performs in
regulating drug transfer into developing egg yolks (Donoghue et al.,
1996). Yolks develop in the ovary over a period of months and, even when
contaminant transfer was limited to just a 24-hour period, yolks that are weeks
to months from ovulation incorporated and stored residues. Interestingly, the
patterns of residue transfer into yolks were similar for different types of
contaminants. In separate, replicated studies, we determined that two dissimilar
classes of antibiotics (ampicillin or oxytetracycline) or the pesticide, lindane,
all had similar patterns of residue uptake into developing egg yolks. This
potentially universal physiological regulation of residue transfer into egg
yolks has been used to develop the following mathematical prediction model for
residue transfer for all types of chemical compounds. Our model is as follows:
I+j-1
Pk
k=I
It is beyond the scope of this article to define and give examples of our
model, but for interested readers, this information can be obtained from our
paper in Journal of Food Protection (Donoghue, et. al., 1997; in
press) or by contacting the author. FDA MEDWATCH
Doctor's Data,
Inc. is an independent reference laboratory providing data on levels of toxic
and essential elements in hair, and elements, amino acids, and metabolites in
blood and urine.