Potentially hallucinogenic 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor ligands bufotenine and dimethyltryptamine in blood and tissues.

Bufotenine and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) are hallucinogenic dimethylated indolethylamines (DMIAs) formed from serotonin and tryptamine by the enzyme indolethylamine N-methyltransferase (INMT) ubiquitously present in non-neural tissues. In mammals, endogenous bufotenine and DMT have been identified only in human urine. The DMIAs bind effectively to 5HT receptors and their administration causes a variety of autonomic effects, which may reflect their actual physiological function. Endogenous levels of bufotenine and DMT in blood and a number of animal and human tissues were determined using highly sensitive and specific quantitative mass spectrometric techniques. A new finding was the detection of large amounts of bufotenine in stools, which may be an indication of its role in intestinal function. It is suggested that fecal and urinary bufotenine originate from epithelial cells of the intestine and the kidney, respectively, although the possibility of their synthesis by intestinal bacteria cannot be excluded. Only small amounts of the DMIAs were found in somatic or neural tissues and none in blood. This can be explained by rapid catabolism of the DMIAs by mitochondrial monoamino-oxidase or by the fact that the dimethylated products of serotonin and tryptamine are not formed in significant amounts in most mammalian tissues despite the widespread presence of INMT in tissues.

Passive monitoring method for 3-ethenylpyridine: a marker for environmental tobacco smoke.

A new method was developed to assess environmental tobacco smoke in air. The method is based on passive sampling and subsequent measurement of the concentration of 3-ethenylpyridine, a vapor-phase compound specific to tobacco smoke. Air samples were collected using a 3M organic vapor monitor. Tests were carried out in a dynamic chamber to determine the sampling rate (25.7 cm3/min). 3-Ethenylpyridine was desorbed from the sampler with 1 mL of pyridine/toluene mixture. 3-Ethenylpyridine was quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The limit of detection was 0.01 microgram/sample, corresponding to a concentration of 0.27 microgram/m3 air calculated for a sampling period of 24 h. Field measurements were carried out to test the performance of the method. Mean concentrations ranging from 1.3 to 5.3 micrograms/m3 were measured for 3-ethenylpyridine in smoking environments, but no 3-ethenylpyridine was detected in nonsmoking environments. Active sampling using charcoal tubes was used as a reference method in the chamber tests and field measurements. Individual exposures can be easily and accurately measured by means of the passive sampler. Because of simple sample treatment, the method is also well-suited for large-scale monitoring of environmental tobacco smoke.

Scaled down method for the reproducible recovery to high purity of human serum albumin from low volume blood samples.

A basic need for a protein-based dosimeter is a purified protein. In this communication we present an isolation protocol and an HPLC-based assay which allows one to determine the purity of the isolated albumin. A total of 168 human blood samples were collected from workers of a benzene processing plant and from nearby countryside at Kohtla-Järve, Estonia. Albumin was isolated from plasma by sequential precipitation and the purity was determined by HPLC. The amount of albumin present in plasma varied between the individuals, being 147 +/- 26 mg/5 ml (n = 168), which is about 59% of plasma albumin. However, the isolated albumin was highly pure (100.9 +/- 8.2%, n = 5). All albumin samples analyzed demonstrate two peaks in HPLC analysis. The two peaks detected were collected and subjected to MS analysis, which demonstrates a difference of 120 mass units between the two albumin products isolated. We have developed an assay, which is easy to carry out and is not too labor intense. The HPLC analysis can be applied to confirm the purity of the isolated albumin as well as to confirm the quantity of the albumin in samples.

Exposure of workers to 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and dibenzofuran (PCDF) compounds in sawmills previously using chlorophenol-containing antistain agents.

The use of chlorophenol-containing antistain agents (e.g., Ky5, a wood preservative) ceased in Finland at the end of the 1980s, after 5 decades of use. Exposure of workers to the impurities in these agents (i.e., polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins [PCDDs] and dibenzofurans [PCDFs]) was assessed at three sawmills at which personnel used a sodium chlorophenate product as an antistain agent. Given that compounds accumulate in body fat and their half-lives in humans are long, we could determine 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDDs and PCDFs 5-9 y after the last exposure occurred. We used high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry to determine PCDDs/PCDFs in plasma from 39 Ky5-exposed workers and 18 nonexposed workers. The average total plasma concentration of PCDD/PCDF of the Ky5-exposed workers at the three sawmills were 1018, 945, and 1165 pg/g fat, and corresponding concentrations in the nonexposed workers were 743, 1124, and 844 pg/g fat, respectively. We found no significant differences in total levels between Ky5-exposed workers and nonexposed workers. However, concentrations of the 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF isomer were significantly higher (p < .01) among the Ky5-exposed workers at all three sawmills (averages of 224, 99, and 148 pg/g fat) than among their respective nonexposed workers (averages of 43, 48, and 44 pg/g fat). These results indicate that workers had handled Ky5. When we expressed concentration levels in international toxic equivalents (I-TEQs), the mean total I-TEQ PCDD/PCDF of Ky5-exposed workers was significantly lower at one of the sawmills (average = 42 pg I-TEQ/g) than at the other two sawmills (averages of 64 and 62 pg I-TEQ/g)(p < .05). Nevertheless, total concentrations at the sawmills studied were within the range of background levels in the general population.

PCDD/PCDF levels in the blood of workers at a pulp and paper mill.

Blood samples from 34 workers at a pulp and paper mill and from 14 control persons were analysed for 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDDs and PCDFs. There were no statistically significant differences in total lipid-adjusted PCDD/PCDF concentrations, expressed as toxic equivalents, in blood plasma between the potentially exposed bleaching plant or paper mill workers and the controls. The mean level was 61 pg/g I-TEQ in bleaching plant workers, 60 pg/g I-TEQ in paper mill workers and 49 I-TEQ pg/g in controls. Regarding the concentrations of individual isomers, however, there was an indication that the blood plasma concentrations might be affected by the living and working environment.