Environmental and Food Molecular Markers: Characterization and Binding Mechanism by Separation Methods

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This first objective would focus on developing separation methods, primarily capillary electrophoresis (CE) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS), for the analysis and characterization of molecular markers that can be used as tracers or indicators for environmental contamination and for food authenticity. In environmental waters, this research program would focus on molecular markers, such as endocrine disruptors, sterols, resin acids, chlorophenolics, which are increasingly being used as indicators of environmental behaviour such as accumulation and contamination. In addition, the research program will identify markers that originate from effluents of pulp and paper, mining, wind energy and oil industries and use the markers as tracers for contamination of surrounding environmental bodies. Fecal sterols and bile acids will be used to distinguish between sources of animal fecal pollution in environmental waters and relate the results to the type of feeding regime. In addition I would focus on potential markers in transformer fluids. Transformers use coils of conducting wire covered with a cellulose paper-based insulator. Mineral oils and ester-based oils which are used as insulating fluids in transformers are increasingly contaminated with cellulose breakdown products as the transformer ages in service causing the oils to degrade resulting in transformer faults and failure. In food, the goal is to use fatty acids and polyphenols to identify the quality of dairy products and whey proteins to identify source of whey pollution in the dairy industry. Therefore, this study will involve developing efficient separation methods (CE, LC/MS, GC/MS) to characterize the breakdown by-products and new indicator compounds from oil decomposition and relate these to the aging of the oils and thus predict transformer failure. This would enable power utility companies to design appropriate corrective measures to prevent transformer failures. This will offer an in-depth knowledge into how the composition of natural and synthetic based ester oils impact the aging of the oils and how they relate to transformer faults. As a result, power utility industries would have chemical knowledge to use to design appropriate corrective measures to prevent transformer failures.The second objective will focus on developing separation methods to investigate the binding interaction of bisphenols and polyphenols with serum transport proteins (e.g., albumins). These albumins play an important role in the blood circulatory system and have a tendency to interact with the markers. CE methods would be developed to probe the interaction between the bisphenols/polyphenols and albumins. This study will help to elucidate the binding mechanism of the bisphenols and polyphenols at a molecular level.