Date of Award
12-22-2011
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Environmental Sciences, Ph.D.
First Advisor
Roger Buchanan
Committee Members
Jerry Farris; Maureen Dolan; Scott Reeve; Tom Risch
Call Number
LD251 .A566d 2011 C52
Abstract
Mercury is found throughout the environment with a distribution on a global scale in nearly all terrestrial to marine environments. Biotransformation of divalent mercury and subsequent bioaccumulation of organo-mercury species is catalyzed by sulfate reducing bacteria. Trophic transport of the resultant methyl mercury, a highly toxic species, leads to upward accumulation in the trophic structure of aquatic environments and ultimately to human exposure through consumption of methyl mercury laden fish. The potential for human health risk has made mercury a high priority environmental contaminant. Research aimed at assessing the within-organism fate of mercury using a genetically tractable mammalian model is necessary to define the organ-level fate and mass balance of the metal. Additionally, the widespread distribution of mercury and potential for human health risk has created a need for new chelation therapies that can successfully bind the metal, increase its excretion rate and ameliorate the toxicity. The chemical structure and mode of action of metal chelators greatly affects the efficiency by which a chelator targets an electrophilic metal such as mercury. In this document, I report the results of three investigations related to the detection and chelation of mercury. To study the impact of chelation on Hg distribution within the body, I studied a novel mercury chelator. The goal of this study was to assess its effect on the distribution of mercury when administered as a near lethal dose to rats. Thin sections of frozen kidney taken from rats that were part of this study were analyzed by Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). LA-ICP-MS was used as a bio-imaging tool to resolve the spatial distribution of Hg, Cu, Fe, and Zn within these kidney sections. Though methods are available to detect organomercury species in environmental and biological specimens, existing methods require significant sample preparation and often cost-prohibitive analytical equipment. Therefore, I developed a new mercury speciation technique that allows for measurement of individual mercury species by utilizing a gas chromatograph and a fluorescence detector. This approach allows for rapid detection and quantification of organo-mercury species including methyl mercury, ethyl mercury and phenyl mercury.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Clarke, David Harold, "Efficacy of a Novel Chelator for Mercury Chelation and Distribution" (2011). Student Theses and Dissertations. 903.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/903
