Xuesheng Zhang

Studies of thermodynamic properties and relative stability of a series of polyfluorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins by density functional theory.

The thermodynamic properties of 75 polyfluorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PFDDs) in the ideal gas state at 298.15K and 1.013x10(5) Pa have been calculated at the B3LYP/6-311G* level using Gaussian 03 program. The isodesmic reactions were designed to calculate standard enthalpy of formation (DeltaH(f)(degrees)) and standard free energy of formation (DeltaG(f)(degrees)) of PFDDs congeners. The relations of these thermodynamic parameters with the number and position of fluorine atom substitution (N(PFS)) were discussed, and it was found that there exist high correlations between thermodynamic parameters (entropy (S(degrees)), DeltaH(f)(degrees) and DeltaG(f)(degrees)) and N(PFS). According to the relative magnitude of their DeltaG(f)(degrees), the relative stability order of PFDD congeners was theoretically proposed.

Acute and subacute oral toxicity of polychlorinated diphenyl sulfides in mice: Determining LD50 and assessing the status of hepatic oxidative stress

Polychlorinated diphenyl sulfides (PCDPSs), a series of dioxin-like compounds, have been detected in various environmental samples. However, information on the toxicity of these compounds is limited. In the present study, the toxic effects of PCDPSs were assessed after acute and subacute exposure in mice. Relationships between acute toxicity, number, and position of substituted Cl atoms were assessed. In the acute study, 11 types of PCDPSs were administered to female Kunming mice by gavage, and median lethal doses (LD50s) were determined by the Karber method. Results indicated that the LD50s of lower substituted PCDPSs were smaller than higher substituted PCDPSs. Substituted positions also influenced the LD50 of PCDPSs. Terminal necropsy showed increased relative liver weights and decreased relative kidney weights. Histological examination of livers demonstrated swollen cells, inflammation, vacuolization, and necrosis. In the 28-d subacute exposure tests, 11 types of PCDPSs were dissolved in corn oil and administered to mice at doses of 1, 10, and 100 mg/kg. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in mouse liver were determined after the exposure period. Results suggested that lower substituted PCDPSs decreased SOD activity in the high-dose groups compared with controls, and MDA level in the 100-mg/kg dose group was significantly increased. In addition, acute toxicity of PCDPSs partly corresponded to the hepatic oxidative damage observed.

Experimental and theoretical study on IR and NMR spectra of several tetrachlorinated diphenyl sulfides

Tetrachlorinated diphenyl sulfides (TCDPSs) are environmentally interesting compounds. In this paper, both experimental and theoretical studies on IR and (1)H NMR as well as (13)C NMR chemical shifts of 4 synthesized TCDPSs have been carried out. The optimized geometries were obtained at the B3LYP/6-311G** level by using the Gaussian 03 program. Meanwhile, related spectral parameters were calculated. In addition, the experimental values were compared with the calculated ones. The results show that the scaled theoretical vibration frequencies are in good accordance with the observations, and computed chemical shifts are consistent with the experimental values.

Effect of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE‐209) on a soil‐biota system: Role of earthworms and ryegrass

In the present study, the toxic effect of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209), an important brominated fire retardant, on soil was evaluated by amending with different concentrations (0 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, and 500 mg/kg dry wt) for 40 d. The activities of 3 soil enzymes (urease, catalase, and alkaline phosphatase) were measured as the principal assessment endpoints. Meanwhile, the effects of natural environmental factors, such as light conditions and soil biota, on BDE-209 intoxication were studied. For the latter, 30 earthworms (Metaphire guillelmi) with fully matured clitella or ryegrass (Lolium perenne) with fully matured leaves were exposed in soil amended with BDE-209. The activities of the soil enzymes were adversely affected by BDE-209, especially for the high-concentration treatments, with greater adverse effects in the dark than in the light. The presence of earthworms reduced toxicity to BDE-209, whereas ryegrass did not. The calculated integrated biomarker response index, which provides a general indicator of the health status of test species by combining different biomarker signals, further validated these findings. Moreover, the antioxidant status (oxidant-antioxidant balance) of these 2 biota was assessed. Results indicated that BDE-209 significantly affected the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) and enhanced the levels of malondialdehyde in both species. The present study may facilitate a better understanding of the toxicity of BDE-209 toward the soil environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1349-1357.

Experimental investigation on the soil sorption properties and hydrophobicity of polymethoxylated, polyhydroxylated diphenyl ethers and methoxylated-, hydroxylated-polychlorinated diphenyl ethers.

In the present study, twenty-six types of polymethoxylated diphenyl ethers (PMeODEs), twenty types of polyhydroxylated diphenyl ethers (PHODEs), seven types of methoxylated-polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PCDEs) and seven types of hydroxylated-polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (HO-PCDEs) were synthesized. The logKow and logKoc values of all of the synthesized compounds were then determined using HPLC. The soil sorption properties of five types of selected substituted diphenyl ethers (DEs) were investigated. Sorption behavior studies suggested that rapid sorption played a primary role in the sorption process of the selected DEs and their sorption isotherms were fitted the Freundlich logarithmic model. For PMeODEs and PHODEs, with the increase in the number of substituents, both logKow and logKoc values exhibited linearly decreasing trends. Unlike PMeODEs and PHODEs, both logKow and logKoc values of MeO/HO-PCDEs were decreased linearly with the increasing number of chlorine atoms. The reason maybe that both methoxy and hydroxyl are hydrophilic groups, whereas the chlorine atom is hydrophobic group. Linear relationships were observed for the logKow and logKoc of all studied DEs. Moreover, the logKow of PMeODEs, PHODEs, MeO- and HO-PCDEs and their corresponding PCDEs showed good linearity.

Hepatic oxidative status and metal homeostasis disturbance of 2-hydroxylated dioxin in ICR mice.

In the present study, the toxic effects of the oral exposure of 2-hydroxylated dioxin (2-HODD) in ICR male mice were examined. The mice were administered different doses (0.2, 2.0 and 20.0mg/kg) of 2-HODD. After 14 days of exposure, the oxidative stress (OS) indicator levels and the essential metal concentrations in the mouse livers were determined. The results showed that the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were increased in the 0.2mg/kg group, whereas they were significantly decreased in the 2.0 and 20.0mg/kg groups. Decreases in the catalase (CAT) activity and the glutathione (GSH) levels, accompanied by increases in the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, were recorded in all of the 2-HODD-treated groups. The hepatic iron, copper and zinc levels increased in all of the 2-HODD-treated groups. The histological examination of the livers demonstrated swollen cells and inflammation. Dose-dependent changes in both the OS indicators and the hepatic metal levels were observed. In conclusion, a single low dose of 2-HODD significantly perturbed the hepatic OS status and metals homeostasis in the mice.

A Comprehensive Study on Infrared Spectra of 2-Hydroxyxanthone

ABSTRACT A study on the IR spectra of 2-hydroxyxanthone that was both experimental and theoretical was carried out in this work. The optimized structure and related spectral parameters were obtained by using the Becke-3-Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) method with the 6-31G* and 6-311G** basis sets. The corresponding geometrical parameters were compared with each other. Detailed assignments of the vibration frequencies were performed. The agreement between the scaled theoretical frequencies and the observed frequencies was found to be quite good. Also, the calculation accuracies of the two basis sets are close.

QSPR modeling of the log K ow and log K oc of polymethoxylated, polyhydroxylated diphenyl ethers and methoxylated-, hydroxylated-polychlorinated diphenyl ethers

In the present study, the structural parameters of 209 types of polymethoxylated diphenyl ethers (PMeODEs), 209 types of polyhydroxylated diphenyl ethers (PHODEs), seven types of methoxylated-polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PCDEs) and seven types of hydroxylated-polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (HO-PCDEs) were calculated using the Gaussian 09 program at the B3LYP/6-311G** level. Using structural and positional parameters as descriptors, quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR) models for the prediction of n-octanol/water partition coefficient (logKow) and soil sorption coefficient normalized to organic carbon (logKoc) were established and verified. The position parameters N2(6), N3(5) and N4 were the main positional factors influencing logKow and logKoc of PMeODEs and PHODEs. The molecular polarizability α was entered into the QSPR models of the logKow and logKoc of PMeODEs, PHODEs and MeO/HO-PCDEs, indicating that the molecular volume could influence the two environment-related properties of DEs significantly. All of the established QSPR models showed good goodness-of-fit, robustness, and predictive ability. The two models for all of the tested DEs are slightly inferior compared with the models for only a class of compounds. In addition, application domain analysis indicated that the models reliably predicted the logKow and logKoc of the mon- to hexa-DEs.