 |
|
Glowing Results-Pitt Researchers Use Fluorescence to Develop Fast, Simple Method for Detecting Mercury in Fish and Dental Fillings
November 19, 2008PITTSBURGH-Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a simple and quick method for detecting mercury in fish and dental samples, two substances at the center of public concern about mercury contamination. The technique involves a fluorescent substance that glows bright green when it comes into contact with oxidized mercury, the researchers report in the current online edition of the "Journal of the American Chemical Society." The intensity of the glow indicates the amount of mercury present.
Developed in the laboratory of Kazunori Koide (Ko-ee-deh), a chemistry professor in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, the new method can be used onsite and can detect mercury in 30 to 60 minutes for dental fillings (or amalgams) or 10 to 30 minutes for fish, Koide explained. "Our method could be used in the fish market or the dentist office," he said. "We have developed a reliable indicator for mercury that a person could easily and safely use at home."
The fluorescence results from the reaction of mercury ions with hydrocarbons called alkynes-the alkyne is converted into a ketone and creates a fluorescent molecule. Koide's method differs from similar mercury indicators in that it withstands the oxidation process mercury samples must undergo prior to testing, Koide said. The mercury species found in most fish and dental amalgams-such as the toxic methyl mercury-must be converted into a safer variety of mercury with an oxidizing agent. Other fluorescent detectors are often not compatible with samples that have been oxidized.
In testing fish, Koide and his team oxidized a piece of salmon (about the size of a fingertip) in water mixed with a chlorine solution similar to household bleach. The conversion process is safe and relatively simple, Koide said. Afterward, the team added the alkyne solution and the mixture glowed bright green.
The Pitt researchers also tested for mercury leaching from dental amalgam, a common tooth filling composed primarily of mercury mixed with smaller amounts of other metals. Concern exists about the mercury seeping from a filling into a person's body and about the disposal of unused amalgam by dentist offices (which is not federally regulated in the United States). To test for leaching, the team pressed a cloth to a tooth with an amalgam filling for one minute; the sample glowed when exposed to the mercury-detecting agent. They also submerged two amalgam-filled teeth in the amino acid cysteine to mimic sulfur-rich foods, which are thought to increase mercury seepage from amalgam. Again, the cysteine solution turned bright green when the indicator was added, suggesting that Koide's method can also be used to monitor mercury leaching caused by sulfur-rich food.
In terms of amalgam disposal, Koide suggested that his method could be used to test dentist office wastewater for mercury content onsite without sending samples to analytical laboratories.
The current paper can be found on the "JACS" Web site at pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja805678r
University of Pittsburgh
In testing fish, Koide and his team oxidized a piece of salmon (about the size of a fingertip) in water mixed with a chlorine solution similar to household bleach. The conversion process is safe and relatively simple, Koide said. Afterward, the team added the alkyne solution and the mixture glowed bright green.
The Pitt researchers also tested for mercury leaching from dental amalgam, a common tooth filling composed primarily of mercury mixed with smaller amounts of other metals. Concern exists about the mercury seeping from a filling into a person's body and about the disposal of unused amalgam by dentist offices (which is not federally regulated in the United States). To test for leaching, the team pressed a cloth to a tooth with an amalgam filling for one minute; the sample glowed when exposed to the mercury-detecting agent. They also submerged two amalgam-filled teeth in the amino acid cysteine to mimic sulfur-rich foods, which are thought to increase mercury seepage from amalgam. Again, the cysteine solution turned bright green when the indicator was added, suggesting that Koide's method can also be used to monitor mercury leaching caused by sulfur-rich food.
In terms of amalgam disposal, Koide suggested that his method could be used to test dentist office wastewater for mercury content onsite without sending samples to analytical laboratories.
The current paper can be found on the "JACS" Web site at pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja805678r
University of Pittsburgh
Mercury Current Events and Mercury News RSSStudy finds mercury levels in children with autism and those developing typically are the same
In a large population-based study published online today, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute report that after adjusting for a number of factors, typically developing children and children with autism have similar levels of mercury in their blood streams. Mercury is a heavy metal found in other studies to adversely affect the developing nervous system.
Report examines hidden costs of energy production and use
A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not reflected in market prices of coal, oil, other energy sources, or the electricity and gasoline produced from them.
How the Moon produces its own water
The Moon is a big sponge that absorbs electrically charged particles given out by the Sun. These particles interact with the oxygen present in some dust grains on the lunar surface, producing water.
A woman in space
In the early years of the "space race" (1957-1975) two men sought to test a scientifically simple yet culturally complicated theory: that women might be innately better suited for space travel than men.
UT Knoxville and ORNL researchers reveal key to how bacteria clear mercury pollution
Mercury pollution is a persistent problem in the environment. Human activity has lead to increasingly large accumulations of the toxic chemical, especially in waterways, where fish and shellfish tend to act as sponges for the heavy metal.
NAE announces award winners John Casani and Sheila Widnall
During its 2009 annual meeting, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) will present two awards for extraordinary impacts on the engineering profession.
Simulation suggests rocky exoplanet has bizarre atmosphere
So accustomed are we to the sunshine, rain, fog and snow of our home planet that we find it next to impossible to imagine a different atmosphere and other forms of precipitation.
Cosmic Rays Hit Space Age High
Planning a trip to Mars? Take plenty of shielding. According to sensors on NASA's ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer) spacecraft, galactic cosmic rays have just hit a Space Age high.
Air pollutants from abroad a growing concern, says new report
Plumes of harmful air pollutants can be transported across oceans and continents -- from Asia to the United States and from the United States to Europe -- and have a negative impact on air quality far from their original sources, says a new report by the National Research Council.
Spallation Neutron Source first of its kind to reach megawatt power
The Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), already the world's most powerful facility for pulsed neutron scattering science, is now the first pulsed spallation neutron source to break the one-megawatt barrier.
More Mercury Current Events and Mercury News Articles
 |
Diagnosis: Mercury: Money, Politics, and Poison by Jane M. Hightower M.D. (Author) One morning in 2000, Dr. Jane Hightower walked into her exam room to find a patient with disturbing symptoms she couldn’t explain. The woman was nauseated, tired, and had difficulty concentrating, but a litany of tests revealed no apparent cause. She was not alone. Dr. Hightower saw numerous patients with similar, inexplicable ailments, and eventually learned that there were many more around the nation and the world. They had little in common—except a healthy appetite for certain fish. Dr. Hightower’s quest for answers led her to mercury, a poison that has been plaguing victims for centuries and is now showing up in seafood. But this “explanation” opened a Pandora’s Box of thornier questions. Why did some fish from supermarkets and restaurants contain such high levels... |
 |
Mercury Thermometer (box of 10) - NOT FOR ORAL USE by Sper Scientific Yellow Back - SAMA Range Liquid in Glass and Mercury Thermometers |
 |
Mercury in Retrograde: A Novel by Paula Froelich (Author) When Mercury is in retrograde, the only guarantee is anything that can go wrong, will. Penelope Mercury, an intrepid reporter at the New York Telegraph, has pounded the pavement for five years from city borough to borough, carrying out her boss's eccentric orders to break stories that seem inconsequential to everyone but him. Finally, she is inches away from being promoted to her dream job -- covering courtroom drama for the paper -- but after one spectacularly disastrous day, she is fired instead. Lena "Lipstick Carcrash" Lipp encrass has a pretty fabulous life, even by a socialite's standards, as a top editor at the high fashion magazine Y. Long lunches with her girlfriends and afternoons spent shopping at Bergdorf's are all in a day's work. But when Lena's always indulgent parents... |
 |
U.S. Divers Mercury Full Adult Wetsuit (Medium/Large) by U.S. Divers 3mm chest panels with 2mm side panels, Super stretch panels for greater flexibility |
 |
Mercury by Long-View Despite sharing a weakness for sweeping, bittersweet guitar rock with Coldplay, Long-view is not just another smudged Xerox of the original. Mercury finds the British group not only grasping for its own identity but other, more elusive things. Melodies unravel slowly, each note of every song aims to pull at the heartstrings, and the lyrics seem to indicate that singer Rob McVey spends just about every night flopping around his bed mulling all kinds of existential conundrums. But redemption is always around the corner in storming tunes like "Further" and "Will You Wait Here." And at least they don't sound like Travis--much. So a work in progress, to be sure, but the end result could be something quite fetish-worthy. --Aidin Vaziri |
 |
Mercury (Mulberry books) by Seymour Simon (Author) People have followed Mercury's path through twilit skies since ancient times,but only since Mariner 10 flew by in 1974 have we begun to unravel themysteries of the sun's closest neighbor. Impressive NASA photographs willtake you to a cratered world where days hot enough to melt lead and nightsat 300 degrees below zero last for almost three months. |
 |
Mercury Meltdown: Revolution by Ignition Entertainment Ltd Mercury Meltdown Revolution is a brain-teasing puzzle game that challenges players to immerse themselves in a colorful world of sci-fi machines, crazy characters, and bubbling test tubes. Using the Wii Remote, players guide a liquid mercury 'blob' around traps, door switches, spikes, moving floors, and other hazardous elements in order to complete the level. |
 |
Pocket Mercury Thermometer Max Reg (box of 3 - NOT FOR ORAL USE) by Sper Scientific Mercury column remains at the maximum temperature reached until it is shaken down like a clinical thermometer. White backed, total immersion, 6" (155mm) long, in blue plastic holder. NOT FOR ORAL USE. |
 |
BEBE SPORT Women's Mercury Rising Z-Strap Open Back,Black,6.5 M by BEBE SPORT |
 |
Natural Mercury Detoxification by William Rasmussen (Author) Covers the sources of mercury, symptoms of mercury exposure, strengths and weaknesses of various mercury level tests, the ways in which mercury affects the body, proposed methods of safe mercury detoxing and amalgam removal and their pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages of various mercury chelators and mobilizers, the physiology of the four stages of successful mercury detoxification, and suggested nutritional supplement programs. Contains references, web sites and phone numbers. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |