Biodegradation of α-, ß-, and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane by Arthrobacter fluorescens and Arthrobacter giacomelloi.

The organochlorine pesticide γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH, lindane) and its non-insecticidal isomers α-, ß-, and δ- continue to pose serious environmental and health concerns, although their use has been restricted or completely banned for decades. The present study reports the first results on the ability of two Arthrobacter strains, not directly isolated from a HCH-polluted site, to grow in a mineral salt medium containing α-, ß-, or γ-HCH (100 mgl(-1)) as sole source of carbon. Growth of cultures and HCHs degradation by Arthrobacter fluorescens and Arthrobacter giacomelloi were investigated after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 days of incubation by enumerating colony forming units and GC with ECD detection, respectively. Both bacteria are able to metabolize the HCHs: A. giacomelloi is the most effective one, as after 72 h of incubation it produces 88 % degradation of α-, 60 % of ß-, and 56 % of γ-HCH. The formation of possible persistent compounds was studied by GC/MS and by HPLC analysis. Pentachlorocyclohexenes and tetrachlorocyclohexenes have been detected as metabolites, which are almost completely eliminated after 72 h of incubation, while no phenolic compounds were found.

Mycelium growth and degradation of creosote-treated wood by basydiomycetes.

Tolerance of wood decay fungi of the genera Agrocybe, Armillaria, Auricularia, Daedalea, Pleurotus, Trametes to the presence of various amounts of creosote-treated wood (CTW) in the growth medium was compared. In the case of the most tolerant strain, Pleurotus ostreatus SMR 684, extracellular laccase and peroxidase specific activities were monitored during growth in the presence of CTW. Degradation of various creosote-constituting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by this strain was evaluated by GC-MS and the ecotoxicity of treated and untreated CTW was compared by Microtox test.

Fungal bioremediation of creosote-treated wood: a laboratory scale study on creosote components degradation by Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium.

A bioremediation system for creosote-treated wood is proposed, based on the detoxifying capability of Pleurotus ostreatus, a ligninolythic fungus. Non-sterilized chipped contaminated wood was mixed at various ratios with wheat straw on which Pleurotus mycelia was grown. At 1:2 initial ratio contaminated wood:wheat straw, chemical analyses demonstrated an almost complete degradation of creosote oil components after 44 days, also confirmed by a significant reduction of ecotoxicity. Lower ratios, i.e. higher amount of contaminated wood, lower system efficiency, although a better creosote degradation was obtained by a stepped up wood addition.

High-performance liquid chromatography study of the enantiomer separation of chrysanthemic acid and its analogous compounds on a terguride-based stationary phase.

The direct enantioseparation of chrysanthemic acid [2,2-dimethyl-3-(2-methylpropenyl)-cyclopropanecarboxylic acid] and its halogen-substituted analogues was systematically studied by HPLC using a terguride-based chiral stationary phase in combination with a UV diode array and chiroptical detectors. Isomers with (1R) configuration always eluted before those with (IS) configuration. The elution sequence of cis- and trans-isomers was strongly affected by mobile phase pH, whereas the enantioselectivity remained the same. Conditions for the separation of all the enantiomers were also examined. This method was used for monitor the hydrolytic degradation products of Cyfluthrin (Baythroid) in soil under laboratory conditions.

Stereoselective analysis of acid herbicides in natural waters by capillary electrophoresis.

A capillary electrophoretic method for the stereoselective analysis of aryloxypropionic and aryloxyphenoxypropionic acidic herbicides in ground water and river water was performed. Vancomycin and gamma-cyclodextrin were added to the background electrolyte (BGE) as chiral selectors. Water sample preconcentration was accomplished by solid-phase extraction on styrene-divinylbenzene packed cartridges (2 L of ground water and 1 L of river water). The analytical method allowed for the resolution of mecoprop, fenoprop, fluazifop and haloxyfop racemic mixtures in natural water samples spiked with enantiomer concentration levels in the range 0.1-0.13 ppb for ground water and 0.4-0.54 ppb for river water.

Stereoselective analysis of herbicides by capillary electrophoresis using sulfobutyl ether beta-cyclodextrin as chiral selector.

Capillary zone electrophoresis has been used for the enantiomeric separation of several herbicides. Different beta-cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives have been investigated for chiral separations and among them the negatively charged sulfobutyl ether beta-cyclodextrin (SBE-beta-CD) proved to be effective for the stereo-selective resolutions of the investigated herbicides. The effect of CD concentration, buffer pH and organic modifier on effective mobilities, resolution and selectivity of the analytes have been studied. Addition of SBE-beta-CD (5-50 mg/mL) to the buffer at pH 9 resulted in a general increase of migration times as well as resolution. A CD concentration as low as 5 mg/mL was effective to completely resolve napropamide and ethofumesate enantiomers. Buffer solutions containing 40 mg/mL of SBE-beta-CD were chosen to study the effect of buffer pH (7, 8, and 9) on chiral separation of the herbicides. No great differences in resolution and effective mobilities have been found in the pH 7-9 range. The addition of different organic modifiers to the background electrolyte at pH 9, containing 20 mg/mL of SBE-beta-CD, showed different effects. Methanol was the most effective in improving resolution but in some cases total loss in enantiomeric separation was observed. The qualitative analysis of an enantiomerically pure herbicide (flamprop isopropyl) commercial preparation is also shown.

Cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography for the chiral direct resolution of (+), (-)-trans-1,2-dihydrodiol metabolite of chrysene in vitro activated by rat liver microsome S9 fraction.

A gamma-cyclodextrin (gamma-CD) modified electrokinetic micellar capillary chromatography (MEKC) method was used for the enantiomer separation of a racemic trans-1,2-dihydro-1,2-dihydroxy-chrysene (chry-trans-1,2-diOH) mixture. The chiral resolution was strongly influenced by several important parameters: surfactant concentration and addition of organic modifier to the background electrolyte (BGE). An optimized electrophoretic system was used, consisting of the following conditions: 25 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.8, 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, 20 mM gamma-CD, 7.4% v/v 2-propanol as BGE; the applied voltage, 18 kV, corresponded to 37 microA at a constant temperature of 25 degrees C. This electrophoretic method was applied for monitoring the chry-trans-1,2-diOH enantiomer formation in a real sample, obtained from in vitro metabolic activation of chrysene by phenobarbital-beta-naphthoflavone-induced rat microsomes. The (+) and (-) enantiomers were identified by the racemate and the single enantiomer standard addition method and by spectra comparison with the synthetic compound. Under the experimental conditions used for chrysene activation, the (+) optical isomer was the prevailing form. The CD-MEKC system showed high reproducibility and selectivity, allowing a fast and interference-free analysis even of the in vitro metabolic sample extract, without any pretreatment.

Chromatographic and cytogenetic analysis of in vivo metabolites of fluoranthene.

Fluoranthene metabolites in rat serum were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV and fluorescence detection and compared with in vitro metabolites obtained by incubation with microsomal fraction of rat hepatocytes. In order to resolve very polar fluorescent compounds present in rat serum, a modification of HPLC existing methods for in vitro metabolites separation was necessary. Mutagenic 2,3-dihydrodiol was identified in both in vitro sample and rat serum: this result is in good accord with cytogenetic analysis on rats bone marrow cells, that shows a slight but significant increase of sister chromatide exchanges.

Chromosomal damage induced by maleic hydrazide in mammalian cells in vitro and in vivo.

The induction of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) and chromosomal aberrations (Ch.Ab.) by the herbicide maleic hydrazide (MH) has been investigated in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells grown in vitro and in bone marrow cells of mice treated in vivo. MH induces SCE and Ch.Ab. in CHO cells without metabolic activation; however, no induction of SCE was found in the in vivo experiments.

Effect of the mobile phase composition on the retention behaviour of diphenylsilica pre-coated plates.

The retention of some rifamycins and steroids on diphenyl bonded pre-coated silica gel plates, in relation to the mobile phase used, was examined by thin-layer chromatography. Neat organic solvents, non-aqueous and aqueous binary mixtures were tested as eluents. By comparison of retention data for rifamycins and steroids, respectively, under non-aqueous and aqueous conditions, a dual retention mechanism on this diphenyl phase was found. Interactions with the residual silanol groups seemed to prevail when employing as mobile phase the more lipophilic solvents tested, such as chloroform or dichloromethane, whereas interactions with the aryl groups of the bonded phase prevailed when using high polarity alcohols or aqueous mixtures. As a consequence, by changing the mobile phase, a large variation in selectivity with a concomitant change in retention order of the test compounds was observed.

An in vitro and in vivo study on mutagenic activity of fluoranthene: comparison between cytogenetic studies and HPLC analysis.

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, fluoranthene (FT), has been shown to induce SCEs in vitro in CHO cells in the presence of metabolic activation. Negative results were obtained in vivo in mice. The HPLC analysis performed to investigate the presence of metabolites of FT both in the serum of treated mice and in culture medium of CHO cells confirmed some differences between in vitro and in vivo metabolism.