Author(s)

P. Gramatica, A. Santagostino, E. Bolzacchini, V. Librando, M. Orlandi & B. Rindone

Abstract

Liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array detector and atmospheric- pressure chemical ionization ion sources were used for the determination of a variety of nitrophenols in air samples after solid phase extraction using silica gel and XAD-7 resin-adsorbents (rainwater). In order to predict the toxicity of these relevant compounds on animals we determined in vitro both the uncoupling activity of the oxidative phosphorylation and the inhibitory effect of oxygen consumption in mammalian mitochondria for 18 available phenol derivatives. The experimental data were modelled in a QSAR approach using theoretical molecular descriptors. 1 Introduction Many aromatic compounds are important constituents of gasoline, automobile exaust gases and the ambient air in tunnels and urban athospheres (Stump [1]). Among these, phenols (phenol, cresols, nitrophenols, nitrocresols) have been observed in the gas and particle phase, in fog-moisture, rainwater and snow (Atlunson [2], Grosjean [3]) deriving directly from biogenic and anthropogenic source emissions (Liittke [4], Tremp [5]) and indirectly from photochemically induced reactions in either the gas (Bolzacchini [6]) or the aqueous tropospheric phase (Scheer [7]). Phenol concentration in rain and in clouds are in the range of pg L-1 (Levsen [8]).

Keywords