Publications by authors named "Alistair P Henderson"

Reactions of the epoxides of 1,3-butadiene and isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) with oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur nucleophiles have been compared to enable a better molecular understanding of the relative human toxicities of these epoxides. Hydrolysis of rac.-ethenyloxirane in (O)water gave 77% (2-O)but-3-ene-1,2-diol and 23% (1-O)but-3-ene-1,2-diol.

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Unsaturated 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds, such as 2-butenedial and 4-oxo-2-pentenal are produced in the atmospheric boundary layer from the oxidation of aromatic compounds and furans. These species are expected to undergo rapid photochemical processing, affecting atmospheric composition. In this study, the photochemistry of (E)-2-butenedial and both E and Z isomers of 4-oxo-2-pentenal was investigated under natural sunlight conditions at the large outdoor atmospheric simulation chamber EUPHORE.

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One or more of the muconaldehyde isomers is a putative product of benzene metabolism. As muconaldehydes are highly reactive dienals and potentially mutagenic they might be relevant to the carcinogenicity of benzene. Muconaldehydes may be derived through the action of a cytochrome P450 mono-oxygenase on benzene oxide-oxepin, which are established metabolites of benzene.

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A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed for measuring 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene (1,2-DHN) and 1,4-dihydroxynaphthalene (1,4-DHN) in urine. The method involves enzymatic digestion of urinary conjugates to release the DHNs which were then analyzed as trimethylsilyl derivatives by GC-MS. For 1,2-DHN and 1,4-DHN, respectively, the assay limits of detection were 0.

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Glutathione induces the rapid isomerization of (Z,Z)-muconaldehyde to (E,E)-muconaldehyde via (E,Z)-muconaldehyde, probably via reversible Michael addition of the thiol to one of the enal moieties of the muconaldehyde. Reactions of (E,E)-muconaldehyde with glutathione (in the presence and absence of equine glutathione S-transferase), phenylmethanethiol, N-acetyl-l-cysteine, and N-acetyl-l-cysteine methyl ester were investigated using mass spectrometric techniques. In each case, evidence was obtained for the formation of Michael adducts, e.

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S-Phenylmercapturic acid is a minor metabolite of benzene used as a biomarker for human benzene exposures. The reaction of intracellular glutathione with benzene oxide-oxepin, the initial metabolite of benzene, is presumed to give 1-(S-glutathionyl)-cyclohexa-3,5-dien-2-ol, which undergoes dehydration to S-phenylglutathione, the precursor of S-phenylmercapturic acid. To validate the proposed route to S-phenylglutathione, reactions of benzene oxide-oxepin with glutathione and other sulfur nucleophiles have been studied.

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Enzymes involved in the metabolism of xenobiotic substances are often polymorphic in humans. Such genetic polymorphisms may result in inter-individual differences in detoxification of certain chemicals, and as a consequence, possibly affect health-risk assessments. This present work concerns studies of the influence of polymorphic enzymes in the detoxification of acrylamide and its metabolite glycidamide.

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Glutaraldehyde reacts with weakly nucleophilic anilines, e.g., 3-fluoro-4-nitroaniline, which are models for amino groups in DNA, to give meso-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans, e.

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4-Phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione and its pentafluoro analogue are efficient reagents for trapping arene oxides, e.g. benzene oxide-oxepin, affording crystalline adducts that can be quantitatively analysed by HPLC and MS techniques.

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The weakly alkylating capacity of phosphotriesters (PTE) has been used for the determination of adducts to phosphate groups in DNA by specific transfer to the strongly nucleophilic compound cob(I)alamin [Cbl(I)]. When enzymatically degraded liver DNA from mice treated with 1-(N-methyl-N-nitrosamino)-4-(3-[3H]pyridyl)-4-oxobutane ([3H]NNK) was added to Cbl(I), a 4-(3-[3H]pyridyl)-4-hydroxy-1-butyl-cobalamin ([3H]PHB-Cbl) complex was formed and determined by HPLC and liquid scintillation counting. The PHB-Cbl formed was compared with a synthetic standard verified by LC/MS and 1H NMR and corresponds to phosphate adducts formed from the pyridyloxobutylating species from NNK and from the pyridylhydroxybutylating species from NNAL, NNK being to a large extent converted to NNAL in vivo.

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