Casa » PFAS Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification

PFAS Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification

2000
Toxicologist analyzing fish samples for PFAS in a laboratory setting.

Unlike many persistent organic pollutants that accumulate in fatty tissues, long-chain PFAS like PFOA and PFOS primarily bind to proteins in the blood serum (e.g., albumin) and accumulate in well-perfused organs like the liver. This leads to bioaccumulation within an organism and biomagnification up the food chain, resulting in higher concentrations in apex predators, including humans.

The environmental behavior of long-chain PFAS is distinct from classical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like PCBs or DDT. While traditional POPs are lipophilic (fat-loving) and accumulate in adipose tissue, the amphiphilic nature of PFAS (having both a hydrophobic/lipophobic tail and a hydrophilic head) dictates a different biological fate. The charged functional group (e.g., carboxylate in PFOA or sulfonate in PFOS) interacts with proteins. Specifically, these compounds bind to serum albumin in the blood and fatty acid-binding proteins within cells. This protein-binding mechanism facilitates their transport throughout the body and leads to accumulation in protein-rich tissues and organs with high blood flow, such as the liver, kidneys, and blood itself. Because they are not easily metabolized or excreted, their biological half-life in humans can be several years. This persistence within a single organism is the basis for bioaccumulation. As organisms are consumed by others higher up the food web, the concentration of PFAS increases at each trophic level, a process known as biomagnification. This is why top predators like polar bears, dolphins, and humans often exhibit the highest levels of PFAS contamination.

UNESCO Nomenclature: 2512
– Toxicology

Tipo

Processo biologico

Interruzione

Incrementale

Utilizzo

Uso diffuso

Precursori

  • understanding of food webs and trophic levels
  • development of analytical chemistry techniques (e.g., LC-MS/MS) to detect low concentrations of chemicals in biological tissues
  • the concept of bioaccumulation established with earlier pollutants like ddt and mercury
  • studies on protein binding of pharmaceuticals

Applicazioni

  • development of public health advisories for fish consumption
  • ambientale regolamenti limiting pfas discharge (e.g., stockholm convention)
  • biomonitoring programs to track human exposure levels
  • toxicological models to predict health risks

Brevetti:

NA

Potenziali idee innovative

Livelli! Iscrizione richiesta

Per accedere a questo contenuto devi essere un membro di !Professionals (100% free)!

Iscriviti ora

Siete già membri? Accedi
Related to: bioaccumulation, biomagnification, pfas, pfoa, pfos, toxicology, persistent organic pollutants, serum albumin, environmental fate, food chain.

Lascia un commento

Il tuo indirizzo email non sarà pubblicato. I campi obbligatori sono contrassegnati *

DISPONIBILE PER NUOVE SFIDE
Ingegnere meccanico, responsabile di progetto, ingegneria di processo o ricerca e sviluppo
Sviluppo efficace del prodotto

Disponibile per una nuova sfida con breve preavviso.
Contattami su LinkedIn
Integrazione di componenti elettronici in plastica e metallo, progettazione in base ai costi, GMP, ergonomia, dispositivi e materiali di consumo di medio-alto volume, produzione snella, settori regolamentati, CE e FDA, CAD, Solidworks, Lean Sigma Black Belt, ISO 13485 in ambito medico

Stiamo cercando un nuovo sponsor

 

La tua azienda o istituzione si occupa di tecnica, scienza o ricerca?
> inviaci un messaggio <

Ricevi tutti i nuovi articoli
Gratuito, no spam, email non distribuita né rivenduta

oppure puoi ottenere la tua iscrizione completa -gratuitamente- per accedere a tutti i contenuti riservati >Qui<

Contesto storico

(se la data non è nota o non è rilevante, ad esempio "meccanica dei fluidi", viene fornita una stima approssimativa della sua notevole comparsa)

Principi di invenzione, innovazione e tecnica correlati

Torna in alto

Potrebbe anche piacerti