Destino dei PCB solfonati- ed idrossi-solfonati nell'ambiente

Inglese

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous persistent organic pollutants (POPs) (UNEP, 2001) widely used in various industrial applications until the 1980s. Despite their production was banned by the Stockholm Convention (UNEP, 2001), they are still present in the environment due to their recalcitrance to chemical and biological degradation. These chemicals were extensively studied because of the toxic effects they can elicit on both human health and the environment (Humphrey et al., 2000; IARC, 2015). For the same reasons, attention to PCB metabolites, including methoxylated- (Bergman et al., 1995; Rezek et al., 2008), hydroxylated- (Gilroy et al., 2012; Guvenius et al., 2002; Hovander et al., 2002; Purkey et al., 2004) and sulfated- (Dhakal et al., 2012; Grimm et al., 2013, 2017) PCBs, has also increased over the years. In fact, there is numerous evidence that they can induce neurologic, carcinogenic and endocrine effects (Grimm et al., 2015). Recently, efforts are also being made to shed light on two new classes of metabolites: sulfonated-polychlorinated biphenyls (sulfonated-PCBs) and hydroxy-sulfonated-polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-sulfonated-PCBs). Investigating some of these issues in an attempt to broaden knowledge on OH-sulfonated- and sulfonated-PCBs was the purpose of the present PhD thesis, which is based on the following papers.