Characterization of the interactions between endocrine disruptors and aquatic humic substances from tropical rivers

• Main Author: Botero,Wander G.
• Publication Date: 2011
• Other Authors: Oliveira,Luciana C. de, Cunha,Bruno B., Oliveira,Lílian K. de, Goveia,Danielle, Rocha,Julio Cesar, Fraceto,Leonardo F., Rosa,André Henrique
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society (Online)
• Download full: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-50532011000600015
• topic: water; pollution; endocrine disruptors; aquatic humic substances; complexation capacity

Interactions between two endocrine disruptors (ED) and aquatic humic substances (AHS) from tropical rivers were studied using an ultrafiltration system equipped with a 1 kDa cut-off cellulose membrane to separate free ED from the fraction bound in the AHS. Quantification of 17α-ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The times required for establishment of equilibrium between the AHS and the ED were ca. 30 min, and complexation capacities for 17α-ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A were 18.53 and 2.07 mg g-1 TOC, respectively. The greater interaction of AHS with 17α-ethynylestradiol, compared to bisphenol A, was due to the presence of hydrogen in the structure of 17α-ethynylestradiol, which could interact with ionized oxygenated groups of the AHS. The results indicate that AHS can strongly influence the transport and reactivity of endocrine disruptors in aquatic systems.