ABSTRACT
Infants remain a high-risk group as far as exposure to toxic metals is concerned. The levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), antimony (Sb), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) in twenty-two (22) samples of baby foods and formulas were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations in (mg/kg) of As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Sb were in the ranges 0.006-0.057, 0.043-0.064, 0.113-0.33, 0.000-0.002, 1.720-3.568, 0.065-0.183, 0.061-0.368 and 0.017-0.1 respectively. Health risk assessment indices like the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Cancer Risk (CR) and Hazard Index (HI) were calculated. EDI values of Hg, Cr, and As were below their recommended tolerable daily intake, that of Ni and Mn were lower in 95% of samples, and Cd was also lower in 50% of the samples. THQ values for As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, and Pb were 0.32-3.21, 0.75-1.10, 0.65-1.94, 0.00-0.37, 0.21-0.44, 0.08-0.12 and 0.26-1.13 respectively. The CR values were greater than 10-6, making them unacceptable for human consumption. HI values were between 2.68 and 6.83 (greater than 1), which implied that these metals are likely to pose non-carcinogenic health risks to infants.
ABSTRACT
Five manganese(i) tricarbonyl complexes of the general formulae [Mn(bpea(N=CHC6H4R))(CO)3]PF6 and [Mn(bpea(NHCH2C6H4R))(CO)3]PF6 based on the tridentate bis(pyrazolyl)ethylamine (bpea) ligand, each containing a pendant 4-substituted phenyl group with R = H, I, and C≡C-H, were synthesized and fully characterized, including X-ray structure analysis for three compounds. All complexes are stable in the dark in aqueous buffer for an extended period of time. However, CO-release could be triggered by illumination at 365 nm, establishing these compounds as novel photoactivatable CO-releasing molecules (PhotoCORMs). The influence of the imine vs. amine group in the ligands on the electronic structure and the photophysical behavior was investigated with the aid of DFT and TDDFT calculations. Solution IR studies on selected compounds allowed identification of intermediates resulting from the photoreaction. Finally, light-induced CO release from a model compound was demonstrated both in PBS buffer and in vitro in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using COP-1 as a fluorescent switch-on probe.
