scholarly journals Fungal Laccases Degradation of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Macellaro ◽  
Cinzia Pezzella ◽  
Paola Cicatiello ◽  
Giovanni Sannia ◽  
Alessandra Piscitelli

Over the past decades, water pollution by trace organic compounds (ng/L) has become one of the key environmental issues in developed countries. This is the case of the emerging contaminants called endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). EDCs are a new class of environmental pollutants able to mimic or antagonize the effects of endogenous hormones, and are recently drawing scientific and public attention. Their widespread presence in the environment solicits the need of their removal from the contaminated sites. One promising approach to face this challenge consists in the use of enzymatic systems able to react with these molecules. Among the possible enzymes, oxidative enzymes are attracting increasing attention because of their versatility, the possibility to produce them on large scale, and to modify their properties. In this study five different EDCs were treated with four different fungal laccases, also in the presence of both synthetic and natural mediators. Mediators significantly increased the efficiency of the enzymatic treatment, promoting the degradation of substrates recalcitrant to laccase oxidation. The laccase showing the best performances was chosen to further investigate its oxidative capabilities against micropollutant mixtures. Improvement of enzyme performances in nonylphenol degradation rate was achieved through immobilization on glass beads.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Wasiu A. Abibu ◽  
Gafar Bamigbade ◽  
Amos O. Kolawole ◽  
Taiwo Ajayi ◽  
Abdul W. Sakariyau

Emerging contaminants have posed major environmental and health challenges to human and aquatic lives. They include pharmaceuticals, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), persistent environmental pollutants and many more. EE2 is an example of an endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) increasingly gaining acceptance and used to augment the deficiencies of other reproductive hormones. EE2 constitutes environmental nuisance via discharge into aquatic bodies, thus, threatening aquatic lives and resulting in health defects in human. It is worthy of note that previous researchers have channeled their studies to identifying ways of expelling EE2 from the environment. However, they remain persistent in the environment. The current review examined biological, chemical, physical and nanotechnological approaches in expelling EE2 from the environment. All methods discussed have been efficient in EE2 removal. From the review, both independent and combinatorial approaches in EE2 removal has yielded efficient results.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Rykowska ◽  
W. Wasiak

AbstractConcern for the natural environment increasingly devotes more attention to growing potential hazards resulting from the release of various substances. Currently, one of the main problems associated with environmental pollution is the derivation of organic compounds from wastewater. Substances derived from sewage leaks into the environment in the form of a multicomponent mixtures often enhances the toxic effects caused by these compounds. While analyzing the reports in the literature of the last two decades it can be seen that substantial efforts are devoted to the determination of selected trace contaminants present in wastewater. Among the most marked there are endocrine disrupting compounds, residues of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, plastics and sunscreens. Recently, a new group of compounds joined the aforementioned contaminants, namely drugs, whose legality and availability is increasing every year. Exposure to these type of compounds, named in the literature as emerging contaminants (ECs), involves, among others, such effects as hormonal imbalance, reduction of the survivability of aquatic organisms and reproductive problems. This paper provides a review of the types of emerging organic groundwater contaminants (EGCs) which are beginning to be found in the natural environment in many countries all around the world.


2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 2317-2329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Sutcliffe ◽  
Bradley O. Clarke ◽  
Oliver A. H. Jones

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been in the scientific spotlight since the 1980s. However, there has been much less research reported in Australia than in other developed countries and little information is known about how these compounds interact with native Australian species compared to European and North American fauna. This is of concern because Australia has distinct wildlife and environments that face increasing intensity and frequency of extreme, climatic events compared to northern hemisphere countries. Since oestrogenic compounds cannot be prevented from entering wastewater their management and removal must occur at wastewater treatment plants. Biological treatment is the most effective tool in this regard; however the financial and environmental costs must be balanced with the environmental benefit to effectively plan treatment options. Since standard risk assessment models and procedures developed internationally are unlikely to translate well to Australian ecosystems, new, novel and localised research on both the monitoring and assessment of EDCs in Australian wastewater and receiving aquatic environments is recommended. This includes the development of relevant bioassays and application of treatment technologies that reflect the local community and climate.


2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (7) ◽  
pp. 1511-1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunying Wu ◽  
Wenchao Xue ◽  
Haidong Zhou ◽  
Xia Huang ◽  
Xianghua Wen

The removal of eight typical endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in a full scale membrane bioreactor combined with anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process (A2/O-MBR) for municipal wastewater reclamation located in Beijing was investigated. These EDCs, including 4-octylphenol (4-OP), 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP), bisphenol A (BPA), estrone (E1), 17α-estradiol (17α-E2), 17β-estradiol (17β-E2), estriol (E3) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), were simultaneously analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry after derivatization. The concentrations of eight EDCs were also measured in sludge of anaerobic, anoxic, oxic and membrane tanks to measure sludge-water distribution coefficients (Kd values) as the indicator of adsorption propensity of target compound to sludge. The removal efficiencies of EDCs reached above 97%, except for 4-n-NP removal efficiency of 72%, 4-OP removal efficiency of 75% and EE2 removal efficiency of 87% in the A2/O-MBR process. The high Kd values indicated that the sludge had a large adsorption capacity for these EDCs, and significantly contributed to removal of EDCs. Yeast estrogen screen assay was performed on samples to assess the total estrogenic activity by measuring the 17β-E2 equivalent quantity (EEQ), expressed in ng-EEQ/L. The measured EEQ value was markedly reduced from 72.1 ng-EEQ/L in the influent to 4.9 ng-EEQ/L in the effluent. Anoxic tank and anaerobic tank contributed to 80% and 37% in total EEQ removal, respectively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-101
Author(s):  
Débora Maria Carvalho da Silva ◽  
Cléber Domingos Cunha da Silva

Synthetic estrogens are endocrine disrupting compounds that might be in water bodies and, consequently, interfere in hormonal, metabolic and reproductive functions of organisms exposed. This study aims to analyze the international scientific literature about those chemicals through a systematic and narrative review. The investigated estrogens were 17a-ethinylestradiol (EE2), Mestranol (MeEE2), Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and Dienestrol (DNS), which are widely present in pharmaceuticals, consumed and disposed in the environment. For this review, only scientific papers, published from 1990 to 2019, were considered. They were collected in ScienceDirect, PubMed and Scielo online platforms. Introductory information about the compounds, such as their chemical characteristics and use in society were described, as their occurrence in aquatic ecosystems and effects on biota, reported by environmental assessments and ecotoxicological tests, respectively. According to this study, China is the major contributor in quantitative terms, counting 21 articles about synthetic estrogens. Some hormones demonstrated to be more investigated than others; moreover, the increasing of research about those emerging contaminants was noticed. Additionally, Brazilian water bodies revealed to have the highest concentrations, which should encourage critical thinking on its insufficient environmental management. The study also highlights the importance of scientific research expansion and its implementation on truly effective public policies for aquatic ecosystem conservation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 117954762093358
Author(s):  
Asma Helyaich ◽  
Rabiy Elqadiry ◽  
Karima El Fakiri ◽  
Nourreddine Rada ◽  
Ghizlane Draiss ◽  
...  

A 5-year-old girl was brought to Department of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes for premature breast development since 4 months. Her medical antecedents and family history were uneventful. From investigations she was diagnosed as a case of central precocious puberty. Identification of pesticides in farms surrounding their house indicates that this early stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis was linked to the estrogen-like activity of endocrine-disrupting compounds.


2021 ◽  

<p>In this study, preliminary experiments were conducted to investigate the sorption potential of different organic micropollutants to polystyrene and polyethylene and to examine the removal efficiency of these microplastics during coagulation experiments with iron and manganese coagulants. For the sorption experiments, eight synthetic chemicals which belong to three different categories, pharmaceutical compounds, personal care products and endocrine-disrupting compounds were used. Among target compounds, important removal due to sorption to microplastics was noticed for the antihypertensive drugs Valsartan and Losartan, when polystyrene was used as sorbent material. Their sorption was a slow and gradual process; 20% of valsartan and 59% of losartan was sorbed after 168 h. On the other hand, no sorption of parabens, bisphenol A and sulfamethoxazole was observed. The elaboration of coagulation experiments showed that polystyrene is removed to a higher percentage comparing to polyethylene, reaching 92.4% and 72.1%, respectively. The higher removal of polystyrene was achieved when ferrous sulfate or magnesium sulfate was added, while the use of ferric chloride did not improve its removal. Increased removal of polyethylene was achieved when magnesium sulfate was used. Further experiments should be conducted to investigate the parameters affecting sorption of valsartan and losartan to microplastics and the mechanisms governing removal of polystyrene and polyethylene during coagulation.</p>


Author(s):  
Anjum Afshan ◽  
Md Niamat Ali ◽  
Farooz Ahmed Bhat

Environmental pollutants, like xenobiotic substances released as byproducts of anthropogenic actions, naturally lead to pollution of the environment. They negatively affect the environment through unfavorable impacts on growth, development, and reproduction of organisms including humans. One of the outstanding examples of xenobiotics is endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) such as phthalate esters (PEs), which have the efficacy to disturb numerous biological systems including the invertebrate, reptilian, avian, aquatic, and also the mammalian systems. Phthalates are family of xenobiotic hazardous compounds amalgamating in plastics to intensify their plasticity, flexibility, longevity, versatility, and durability. Ignoring the rising issue on the hazardous nature of various phthalates and their metabolites, ruthless usage of phthalates as plasticizer in plastics and as additives in innumerable consumer products continues due to their low eminent properties, their cost-effectiveness, and lack of suitable alternatives. Globally epidemiological human studies showed various phthalates and their metabolites ingested passively by man from the general environment, foods, drinks, breathing air, and routine household products cause various dysfunctions. This comprehensive chapter on the hazards of phthalates would benefit the general population, academia, scientists, clinicians, environmentalists, and law or policymakers to decide upon whether usage of phthalates to be continued swiftly without sufficient deceleration or regulated by law or to be phased out from earth forever.


Author(s):  
Pradeep Kumar Singa ◽  
Jun-Wei Lim ◽  
Mohamed Hasnain Isa ◽  
Yeek-Chia Ho

This chapter presents an overview of emerging contaminants in landfill leachate and their treatment methods. In addition to introducing the conventional contaminants present in the leachate, the chapter also details emerging contaminants such as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalate acid esters (PAEs) and their concentrations in various environmental matrices. PAHs and PAEs are highly carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic substances which is why they have attracted a lot of concern in the studies of water, air, and soil pollution. They affect the endocrinal activities in animals and humans, therefore they are known as endocrine disrupting compounds. Drawing on the treatment methods of leachate, the chapter explains physico-chemical, biological, and advanced oxidation processes. The chapter also advances the discussion on their importance and efficiency in the leachate treatment.


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