Publications by authors named "Jobst K"

Article Synopsis
  • - This study explores the levels and geographical differences of contaminants found in house dust across Europe, identifying over 1200 anthropogenic compounds using advanced techniques like mass spectrometry and suspect screening.
  • - The research indicates that contaminant concentrations vary less than threefold within Europe, showing similarities with North American dust due to shared consumer products and materials.
  • - It highlights geographical patterns, revealing that certain contaminants increased from north to south (like PAHs and chlorinated paraffins), whereas others, like biocides, decreased; it also emphasizes a significant risk from older, restricted contaminants, like DEHP and PCBs, despite limited toxicity data available for newer compounds.
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In vivo NMR is evolving into an important tool to understand biological processes and environmental responses. Current approaches use flow systems to sustain the organisms with oxygenated water and food (e.g.

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  • - Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (-PFCAs) are becoming recognized as new environmental pollutants that pose detection challenges.
  • - The small collision cross sections (CCS) of -PFCAs hinder their identification through ion mobility techniques.
  • - Research suggests that internal hydrogen bridging in -PFCA ions is responsible for their small CCS, providing a pathway for developing improved identification methods for these pollutants.
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Environmental pollution is escalating due to rapid global development that often prioritizes human needs over planetary health. Despite global efforts to mitigate legacy pollutants, the continuous introduction of new substances remains a major threat to both people and the planet. In response, global initiatives are focusing on risk assessment and regulation of emerging contaminants, as demonstrated by the ongoing efforts to establish the UN's Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution Prevention.

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  • Pharmaceuticals persist in water due to extensive use, leading to various impairments in aquatic life, with the need for deeper molecular comparisons among species.
  • The study examined the effects of analgesics acetaminophen, diclofenac, and ibuprofen on the crustacean Daphnia magna and freshwater fish Japanese medaka, noting that D. magna showed more significant metabolic changes.
  • Results indicated D. magna is generally more sensitive to these pharmaceuticals than medaka, establishing the importance of using environmental metabolomics for effective biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems.
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Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of compounds with uses in industry and many consumer products. Concerns about the potential health effects of these compounds resulted in regulation by the Stockholm Convention on the use of three of the most common PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Thousands of PFAS remain in production that are unregulated and for which their toxicity is unknown.

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In cyclic ion mobility (cIMS), ions are permitted to travel multiple passes around the drift cell, increasing the distance traveled and the relative separation between ions. This study tests the hypothesis that multiple passes around the cell can also result in improved precision when measuring an ion's mobility and the collision cross section (CCS) derived therefrom. Experiments were performed with a diverse set of compounds, including 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using gas chromatographic atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and a set of drug molecules by direct infusion electrospray ionization.

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Humans are exposed to differing levels of micro/nanoplastics (MNPs) through inhalation, but few studies have attempted to measure <1 μm MNPs in air, in part due to a paucity of analytical methods. We developed an approach to identify and quantify MNPs in indoor air using a novel pyrolysis gas chromatographic cyclic ion mobility mass spectrometer (pyr-GCxcIMS). Four common plastic types were targeted for identification, namely, (polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies have found microplastics in human blood and placenta, but their health effects are not fully understood.
  • In experiments with pregnant mice, exposure to polystyrene microplastics led to fetal growth restriction, prompting further research on polyethylene, a common type of microplastic.
  • The study showed that while polyethylene exposure did not affect fetal growth, it significantly increased blood flow in the umbilical artery, indicating potential risks to placental function and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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Conceptual density functional theory (CDFT) descriptors were computed to predict the environmental fate of approximately 6,000 widely used industrial chemicals. CDFT descriptors aligned with a molecule's possible bioaccumulation mechanism, i.e.

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  • The study investigates how exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics in pregnant mice affects fetal brain metabolism, particularly during gestation and lactation.
  • Pregnant mice were given drinking water containing nanoplastics and researchers found significant decreases in important metabolites like GABA, creatine, and glucose in the fetal brain.
  • The findings suggest that maternal nanoplastic exposure disrupts normal brain development in fetuses, highlighting potential risks for human pregnancies and the need for further research.
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Industrial wastewater effluents are a major source of chemicals in aquatic environments, and many of these chemicals may negatively impact aquatic life. In this study, the crustacean Daphnia magna, a common model organism in ecotoxicity studies, was exposed for 48 h to nine different industrial effluent samples from manufacturing facilities associated with the production of plastics, polymers, and coating products at a range of dilutions: 10, 25, 50, 100% (undiluted). A targeted metabolomic-based approach using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to quantify polar metabolites from individual daphnids that survived the 48 h exposure.

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Maternal exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics has been shown to result in fetal growth restriction in mice. In this study, we investigated the placental and fetal hemodynamic responses to plastics exposure in mice using high-frequency ultrasound. Healthy, pregnant CD-1 dams were given either 106 ng/L of 5 μm polystyrene microplastics or 106 ng/L of 50 nm polystyrene nanoplastics in drinking water throughout gestation and were compared with controls.

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Anthropogenic activities are regarded as point sources of pollution entering freshwater bodies worldwide. With over 350,000 chemicals used in manufacturing, wastewater treatment and industrial effluents are comprised of complex mixtures of organic and inorganic pollutants of known and unknown origins. Consequently, their combined toxicity and mode of action are not well understood in aquatic organisms such as Daphnia magna.

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Article Synopsis
  • Environmental metabolomics helps understand how human activities affect organismal health at a molecular level.
  • In vivo NMR is highlighted as a key tool for tracking metabolic changes in real-time, particularly in Daphnia used for toxicity testing.
  • Due to rising costs of isotope enrichment, the study explores the viability of proton-only NMR methods for analyzing non-enriched Daphnia, detailing successes and challenges faced in achieving this.
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  • Ortho-substituted isomers of tricresyl phosphates (TCPs) can lead to neurotoxic effects in humans and are detected using gas chromatography in an ionization source.
  • The study uncovers a proposed reaction mechanism involving the transformation of molecular ions into a distonic isomer, followed by oxidation and decomposition into a neurotoxic metabolite, CBDP.
  • Experimental and computational analyses provide evidence for the existence of hydrogen shift isomers of CBDP, allowing for the identification of potentially harmful TCPs in complex industrial mixtures.
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  • Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are additives used in plastics that can leach into the environment and disrupt endocrine and metabolic functions in aquatic organisms.
  • The study specifically analyzed the effects of four types of phthalates on the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna using targeted metabolomic techniques, revealing distinct metabolic changes and disruptions in biochemical pathways.
  • Findings indicate that phthalates cause unique but related metabolic disturbances, suggesting a common toxic mechanism that highlights the limitations of traditional acute toxicity assessments.
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  • The growing use of plastics has led to increased microplastic pollution, which may negatively affect pregnancy and fetal development, as seen in studies with pregnant mice.
  • Research focused on how maternal exposure to microplastics alters placental metabolism, revealing significant reductions in important metabolites like lysine and glucose.
  • Findings indicate that microplastic exposure disrupts metabolic pathways in the placenta, underscoring the need to limit plastic exposure during pregnancy to protect fetal health.
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Concerns regarding the persistence, bioaccumulation behaviour, and toxicity of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid have resulted in the creation of thousands of replacement perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This study reports on the discovery of fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEO) in indoor dust (9/15 samples), and industrial effluents (14/37 samples) using gas chromatographic cyclic ion mobility mass spectrometry (GC-cIMS). By filtering the detected unknowns by mass and collision-cross section, a series of FTEO homologues were revealed with the formula F-(CF)(CHO)H, where n = 6,8,10, and x = 4-12.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of persistent organic pollutants used in industrial applications because of their physicochemical properties, which results in their ubiquitous presence across environmental matrices. To date, legacy PFAS have been well studied; however, the concentration of alternative PFAS may exceed the concentration of legacy pollutants, and more information is needed regarding the sublethal toxicity at the molecular level of aquatic model organisms, such as Daphnia magna. Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) are four widely detected PFAS alternatives of varying chain length and polar functionality that are quantified in aquatic environments.

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Gas chromatography multiplexed with cyclic ion mobility mass spectrometry is a comprehensive two-dimensional separation technique that can resolve compounds that would otherwise coelute in a single-dimension separation. The cyclic geometry of the ion mobility cell enables ions to travel multiple passes, increasing their drift times to the detector and relative separation. However, the quality of the separation may be obfuscated when "wrap-around" occurs, during which speedier ions catch up with slower ion populations when allowed to travel through more than one pass.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been widely used since the 1940s in industry and everyday household products. They also persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife. Despite these concerns, the identities of most PFASs in environmental and biological samples are unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • PFAS are persistent and toxic pollutants found in water, with well-studied legacy types like PFOS and PFOA, while newer types like GenX are emerging with less known toxicity data.
  • A study using Daphnia magna examined the acute sub-lethal toxicity of PFOS, PFOA, GenX, and their mixtures, revealing significant metabolic disruptions in exposed organisms compared to unexposed ones.
  • The research highlighted that exposure to PFAS affected amino acids and disrupted various metabolic pathways, indicating potential issues with energy metabolism and protein synthesis, while also noting differences in effects based on the chemical structure of the pollutants.
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  • PFASs, like PFOA and PFOS, are harmful chemicals that stay in the environment and can build up in living organisms, raising concerns about health risks throughout life.
  • Research indicates that these substances can disrupt placental function and hinder fetal development during pregnancy, but human studies face challenges due to varying genetic and environmental influences.
  • This review focuses on mouse studies to illustrate the direct impacts of prenatal exposure to PFOA and PFOS on placental and fetal growth, along with potential long-term effects on brain function and metabolism in offspring, while also highlighting areas needing further research.
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NMR spectroscopy is arguably the most powerful tool for the study of molecular structures and interactions, and is increasingly being applied to environmental research, such as the study of wastewater. With over 97% of the planet's water being saltwater, and two thirds of freshwater being frozen in the ice caps and glaciers, there is a significant need to maintain and reuse the remaining 1%, which is a precious resource, critical to the sustainability of most life on Earth. Sanitation and reutilization of wastewater is an important method of water conservation, especially in arid regions, making the understanding of wastewater itself, and of its treatment processes, a highly relevant area of environmental research.

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