Societal concerns over toxic mercury accumulation in humans from fish and other dietary and environmental sources provide motivation to develop new tools and tactics for mercury detection in a wide range of laboratory and field settings. Here we report the synthesis, properties, and application of a selective and sensitive small-molecule chemosensor for fluorescence screening of mercury levels in fish. Mercuryfluor-1 (MF1) is a water-soluble, fluorescein-based reagent that features excellent selectivity for Hg2+ over competing analytes and the largest turn-on fluorescence response to date (>170-fold increase) for reporting this heavy metal ion in aqueous solution. Combining this chemoselective Hg2+ probe with a microwave digestion protocol provides a facile method for assaying mercury levels in fish samples with mercury concentrations spanning 0.1 to 8 ppm, a range well matched with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) standard for the maximum safe level of mercury in edible fish (0.55 ppm).
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja0557987 | DOI Listing |
F1000Res
January 2025
Doctorado en Medicina Tropical, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia.
Background: Contamination of Cartagena Bay, Colombia with heavy metals such as mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) presents a major environmental and public health concern, particularly for human communities residing on nearby islands and coastal areas. These populations face enhanced exposure risks owing to their traditional fishing practices and continuous interactions with polluted marine environments. This study aimed to evaluate the genotoxic effects of environmental exposure to Hg and Cd in populations from the island zone of the Cartagena district, Bolívar.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Public Health
January 2025
Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China.
Background: Metabolic-associated steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis (MASLD) is a growing public health concern, with environmental factors potentially playing a role in its development. This study aimed to investigate the associations between serum cadmium and mercury levels and the risk of MASLD in a nationally representative sample from the United States.
Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018 were analyzed.
Environ Toxicol Chem
January 2025
Savannah River Ecology Lab, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA.
Legacy contaminants tied to energy production are a worldwide concern. Coal combustion residues (CCRs) contain high concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements such as arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and selenium (Se), which can persist for decades after initial contamination. CCR disposal methods, including aquatic settling basins and landfills, can facilitate environmental exposure through intentional and accidental releases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Environ Au
January 2025
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia (REDE BIONORTE), Instituto de Saúde Coletiva (ISCO), Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA), Rua Vera Paz, s/no, Salé, CEP, 68040-255 Santarém, Pará, Brazil.
This study reviews the literature on mercury (Hg) pollution in the Tapajós River basin from 1992 to 2022, focusing on the bioaccumulation in fish and the associated health risks to humans via ingesting contaminated species. Variability in Hg bioaccumulation was analyzed from both spatial (sub-basins) and ecological (trophic levels) perspectives. Mercury concentrations in fish muscle tissue and spatial differences in Hg levels were analyzed using nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA and mapped with Inverse Distance Weighting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Trace Elem Med Biol
January 2025
Indiana University, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indianapolis, USA. Electronic address:
Mercury is a pervasive environmental toxin with significant negative effects on human health. In occupational settings, incidents such as the Minamata and Niigata disease in Japan and the large-scale methylmercury poisoning in Iraq have highlighted the severe health impacts of mercury exposure. It is widely accepted that all forms of mercury including methylmercury and mercuric chloride have the potential to induce toxic effects in mammals, and there is increasing concern about the impact of environmentally relevant levels of mercury on reproductive functions.
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