To elucidate the photochemical behavior of diphenyl ether herbicides in superficial waters, the photodegradation of acifluorfen, 5-2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy-2-nitrobenzoïc acid (CAS ...Registry No. 50594-66-6), was studied in water and acetonitrile. All experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions using a solar simulator (xenon arc) or jacket Pyrex reaction cell equipped with a 125 W high-pressure mercury lamp. The calculated polychromatic quantum efficiencies (Φsolvent) of acifluorfen in different solvents are as follows (units are degraded molecules photon-1): Φwater = 10-4, Φacetonitrile = 10-4, Φmethanol = 10-4, and Φhexane = 10-2. The results obtained in this work are in good agreement with the literature value of monochromatic quantum yield. HPLC-MS analysis (APCI and ESI in positive and negative modes) was used to identify acifluorfen photoproducts. These results suggest that the photodegradation of acifluorfen proceeds via a number of reaction pathways: (1) decarboxylation, (2) dehalogenation, (3) substitution of chlorine group by hydroxyl or hydrogen groups, and (4) cleavage of ether linkage, giving phenols. Photorearrangement products were studied by other investigators. No such products were observed. In addition, it was found that the trifluoro functional group on acifluorfen was not affected by any transformation, and no products of a nitro group reduction were found. Keywords: Herbicides; diphenyl ether; acifluorfen; photodegradation; HPLC-MS analysis
The aim of this study was to identify a signal that could be used as an androgen exposure indicator in the European bullhead (Cottus sp.). For this purpose, the ultra-structure of the kidney was ...characterized to identify normal structure of this organ, and histological changes previously described in the kidney of breeding male bullheads were quantified using the kidney epithelium height (KEH) assay previously developed and validated for the stickleback. In the next step, the effect of trenbolone acetate (TbA), a model androgen, was assessed to identify potential androgenic regulation of bullhead kidney hypertrophy. Measurement of KEH performed on adult non-breeding male and female bullheads exposed for 14 and 21 days to 0, 1.26 and 6.50 mu g/L showed that kidney hypertrophy is induced in a dose-dependent manner, confirming the hypothesis that the European bullhead possesses a potential biomarker of androgen exposure. Combined with the wide distribution of the European bullhead in European countries and the potential of this fish species for environmental toxicology studies in field and laboratory conditions, the hypothesis of a potential biomarker of androgen exposure offers interesting perspectives for the use of the bullhead as a relevant sentinel fish species in monitoring studies. Inducibility was observed with high exposure concentrations of TbA. Further studies are needed to identify molecular signals that could be more sensitive than KEH
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