GENOTOXICITY IN CHIRONOMUS KIIENSIS (CHIRONOMIDAE: DIPTERA) AFTER EXPOSURE TO POLLUTED SEDIMENTS FROM RIVERS OF NORTH PENINSULAR MALAYSIA: IMPLICATION FOR ECOTOXICOLOGICAL MONITORING

Rapid industrialization and urbanization has led to increasing input of chemical contaminants into the aquatic environment of Malaysia. Despite the threat civilization poses to the biota, there are still very few relevant studies on ecotoxicological testing of river ecosystems. To overcome this knowledge gap, we examined lethal and genotoxic effects of sediments from different rivers of the northern Malaysia against Chironomus kiiensis, a group well represented in the aquatic fauna of this region. We exposed the larvae to sediments from Selama River (SR), Permatang Rawa River (PRR) and Kilang Ubi River (KUR) at various durations (0, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h). The larval mortality was monitored, whereas DNA damage in survivors' cells was determined using the comet assay. Pollution level indexed by the amounts of heavy metals and other organic contaminants in the sediment showed progressive increases from SR to PRR to KUR. Highly polluted sediments (PRR to KUR) were detrimental to C. kiiensis larvae, most of which did not survive following exposure for long periods. DNA analyses revealed greater damages in nuclei derived from larvae maintained on polluted sediments, in particular, those from KUR. The effects on the genomic material of C. kiiensis larvae occurred in a time‐dependent manner, with damage level increasing as exposure time progressed. Our results highlight the genotoxic properties of polluted sediments. More importantly, this study showed that C. kiiensis larvae could respond to different levels of pollution with respect to exposure time. It is concluded that C. kiiensis larvae is a potential candidate for river ecotoxicological monitoring. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Abnormal chromosome assessment of snakehead fish (Channa striata) affected by heavy metals from a reservoir near an industrial factory

This study aimed to investigate nine heavy metal concentrations (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn and Ni) in water, sediment and snakehead fish (Channa striata) and to identify abnormal chromosomes in C. striata from a reservoir near an industrial factory and a reference area. Heavy metal concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The metal concentrations in the water, sediment and C. striata samples did not exceed the standard limit of Thailand, except for Cr concentrations, which exceeded water quality standards. The concentrations of Cd, Fe, Mn and Ni in C. striata samples between the reservoir and the reference area were significantly different (p < 0.05). The diploid chromosome number of C. striata from both areas was (2n = 42). Eight types of abnormal chromosomes were identified and classified as a single-chromatid gap, a single-chromatid break, centric fragmentation, a centric gap (CG), fragmentation, deletion, single-chromatid decomposition and iso-arm fragmentation. The most frequent abnormal chromosome in the samples was CG. The percentages of abnormal chromosomes in the C. striata samples from the reservoir near the industrial factory and the reference area were significantly different (p < 0.05) at 8.44 and 1.20, respectively.     

有机污染物理化性质与毒理学性质的预测

本文采用分子电性距离矢量（MEDV）分别表征了多种有机污染物的分子结构,应用多元线性回归（MLR）技术,同时采用逐步回归结合统计检测对模型变量进行筛选,分别建立了有机污染物的沸点和急性毒性与MEDV的定量结构-性质关系（QSPR）模型。继用留一法和外部样本对模型稳定性能进行检验。结果表明：所建QSPR模型有良好的稳定性和预测能力,该研究结果为预测有机污染物的理化性质和毒理学性质提供了的理论依据。     

Hemocompatibility,cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity of poly(methylmethacrylate)/nanohydroxyapatite nanocomposites synthesized by melt blending method

The aim of this study was to show the hemocompatibility, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity of nanocomposites that were synthesized with different molecular weights of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and different concentrations of nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp). Different techniques to characterize the nanocomposites were used. The cytotoxicity and genotoxic effects of the polymers and nanocomposites on human lymphocytes were determined by acid phosphatase assay, viability test, and comet assay. Moreover, hemocompatibility test was performed. It was found that all of the PMMA/nHAp nanocomposites are highly hemocompatible and biocompatible, none of the nanocomposites showed a cytotoxic effect, and nHAp addition decreased the genotoxicity.     

水库水有机污染物遗传毒性的研究简

为研究水库水经国内常规给水处理工艺的各阶段出水中有机提取物对细胞DNA损伤的情况,于8月和1月取水库水作为原水,设定采集4个水样：原水（A）、经混凝沉淀后的沉后水（B）、滤后水（C）和经氯消毒的出水（D）。提取水样中的有机物配成不同浓度溶液,喂食小白鼠,取小白鼠脾脏细胞做彗星实验。结果无论在枯水期还是丰水期,水处理工艺各阶段出水对DNA都有不同程度的损伤,损伤程度顺序：A〉B〉D〉C;丰水期水样对DNA损伤程度高于枯水期水样对DNA的损伤。结果表明,水库水中的有机物污染物具有一定的遗传毒性,常规给水处理工艺对遗传毒性有削减作用,但不能消除。加氯消毒增加了水库水的遗传毒性。     

Chlorinated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Associated with Drinking Water Disinfection: Synthesis,Formation under Aqueous Chlorination Conditions and Genotoxic Effects

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the most persistent and toxic organic micropollutants present in water and several of them are mutagenic and carcinogenic. Although it has been shown that chlorinated derivatives of PAHs (Cl-PAHs) may be formed during the water chlorination procedure, little is known about their potential genotoxic and carcinogenic effects. The objectives of the present work were to prepare and characterize the major chlorinated derivatives of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and fluoranthene (Fluo), to develop an analytical methodology for their quantification in water samples and to analyse their potential genotoxicity. Chlorinated standards were prepared by a newly developed two phase method (water/n-hexane) using sodium hypochlorite. 6-Chloro-benzo[a]pyrene was selectively obtained from BaP, while 1,3-dichloro-fluoranthene and 3-chloro-fluoranthene were obtained from Fluo. All products were isolated and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The formation of BaP- and Fluo-chlorinated derivatives under aqueous chlorination conditions was observed using a SPE-HPLC-FLD methodology. In addition, the cytotoxic and genotoxic activities of the three chlorinated derivatives were analyzed in comparison to their parent compounds, in a human-derived hepatoma cell line using the neutral red uptake and comet assays, respectively. The results showed that, at the equimolar doses of 100 and 125 μM, 6-Cl-BaP was able to induce a significantly higher level of DNA damage than BaP, suggesting a more potent genotoxic effect. In contrast, neither Fluo nor its chlorinated derivatives were genotoxic in the same cell line. The identification of new and possibly hazardous water chlorination by-product from PAHs emphasizes the need to minimize total organic carbon content of raw water and the implementation of safer water disinfection methods.     

Lab‐on‐a‐Chip‐Based High‐Throughput Screening of the Genotoxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials

The continuous increasing of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in our environment, their combinatorial diversity, and the associated genotoxic risks, highlight the urgent need to better define the possible toxicological effects of ENMs. In this context, we present a new high‐throughput screening (HTS) platform based on the cytokinesis‐block micronucleus (CBMN) assay, lab‐on‐chip cell sorting, and automated image analysis. This HTS platform has been successfully applied to the evaluation of the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silica nanoparticles (SiO₂NPs). In particular, our results demonstrate the high cyto‐ and genotoxicity induced by AgNPs and the biocompatibility of SiO₂NPs, in primary human lymphocytes. Moreover, our data reveal that the toxic effects are also dependent on size, surface coating, and surface charge. Most importantly, our HTS platform shows that AgNP‐induced genotoxicity is lymphocyte sub‐type dependent and is particularly pronounced in CD2+ and CD4+ cells.     

体内碱性彗星试验法检测纳米氧化锌遗传毒性

目的利用体内碱性彗星试验方法,检测长期给予纳米氧化锌颗粒(ZnO NPs)对大鼠的遗传毒性作用。方法结合扩展一代生殖毒性试验,使用13周龄的亲代SD大鼠,经口每天灌胃给予ZnO NPs 0、7、50、350 mg/kg(纳米尺度分散状态最大浓度),记录体质量变化并观察。70 d后每个剂量组取亲代大鼠雌雄各10只处死后取乙二胺四乙酸抗凝全血,采用彗星试验试剂盒进行制片,用定量分析专业软件(Casp)进行彗星结果分析。结果与溶剂对照组比较,雄性大鼠高剂量组外周血DNA损伤细胞率和尾部DNA含量百分比明显上升,分别为28.60%和(36.38±5.84)%,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);雌性大鼠高剂量组外周血DNA损伤细胞率和尾部DNA含量百分比明显上升,分别为27.31%和(18.80±2.96)%,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论在350 mg/kg剂量下ZnO NPs体内碱性彗星试验结果阳性。