The method to assign the sources of pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was developed. The method based on the determination of stable carbon isotope compositions of individual PAHs was successfully applied in lacustrine sediments of Lake Bled (NW Slovenia) (Environmental Science & Technology, DOI:10.1021/es303832v) and could be used to trace and identify the sources and transformation processes of PAH in the environment. At the same time it was demonstrated that some PAH were resistant to weathering reactions in anoxic sediments and thus useful in identification of paleo-environmental pollution activities.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26404647
Conjoint liquid chromatography (CLC) was introduced for simultaneous two-dimensional separation of ionic forms of metal-based chemotherapeutics from the portions bound to serum proteins (Method is based on assembling CIM Protein G and CIM DEAE disks in a single housing forming a CLC monolithic column. On the first disk chemotherapeutic bound to immunoglobulin G is separated, while on the second disk unbound form of chemotherapeutic is separated from the portion bound to albumin and transferrin. In combination with UV and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection the kinetics of binding of cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin to serum proteins was investigated in spiked human serum. The CLC method was introduced to the field of metallomics for the first time.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26734631
Fluorouracil is an important anticancer drug, the environmental occurrence, cycling and effects of which are yet to be studied. Within the Department of Environmental Sciences we developed an analytical method for its determination that is more sensitive than existing methods. This achievement was published in the prestigious scientific periodical Journal of Chromatography A. This study is also the first to investigate the transformation of fluorouracil and its prodrug capecitabine in the environment. By simulating its biodegradation and photodegradation we obtained information about its transformation products, thirteen of which are presented to the scientific community for the first time.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26628903
To investigate the impact of Se on Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) plants, the plant foliage was sprayed with 10 mg Se(VI) L-1 at the beginning of flowering. The Se was effectively assimilated by the plants and taken into the seeds, where its concentration was more than double that in untreated plants. The seeds were collected and sown to obtain the progeny of these Se-treated plants. To assess the physiological characteristics of control plants and these Se-treated progeny plants, the estimated respiratory potential via electron transport system (ETS) activity and the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II were measured. Three weeks after germination, the Se-treated progeny plants showed higher ETS activity compared to the controls. Through weeks 4 and 5, this high ETS activity approximately halved, and the difference in ETS activity seen at 3 weeks was lost. On the other hand, at week 4, the potential photochemical efficiency was higher in the Se-treated progeny plants than the controls. In adult plants, the leaves dry mass was significantly greater in the Se-treated progeny plants than the controls. This study demonstrates an impact of Se in tartary buckwheat on the progeny plants of Se sprayed plants.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2702927
in collaboration with the National Institute of Biology we successfully modified the estrogenicity assay ER-Calux® to be able to test raw waste water samples without the need for sample extraction. This method has been compared to the ER-Calux® assay and estrogenicity derived from analysis of four known estrogens by GC-MSD. Our results show no statistical difference between the results obtained by NE-ER-Calux and the other two methods. In addition the new method significantly reduces analysis time and material consumption. On the basis of these results we expect high applicability of the modified ER-CALUX® assay as a screening test, where demanding chemical analysis can be performed only on critical samples. Results of this study have been published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2813007