Identification and control of risk factors in drinking water / Non-targeted Screening of Bioactive Chemicals in Water by Nuclear Receptor Protein Affinity Selection - Mass Spectrometry

Seminar 1
As the so-called “world factory”, China is under the huge pressure of intensive industrial production and wastewater discharge. Under such a background, it is important to understand how the intensive industrial activities would impact drinking water quality. Since the 11th “five-year plan”, China has invested a lot on drinking water researches. The survey on drinking water quality has been continuously conducted. It was found that odor, perchlorate, PFCs, etc., are the major risk factors. Efforts have also devoted to the development of standards and technologies to mitigate the risk factors. 

Seminar 2
While exposure to environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can cause extensive health issues, the specific EDCs in environment remain elusive. A non-target analysis based on nuclear receptor protein affinity selection - mass spectrometry was developed and used to high-throughout identification of ERα, LXRα, PPARγ, RAR, or RXR bioactive chemicals in drinking water and the river water in Changjinag and Huanghe river basins. The antiretroviral drug efavirenz was for the first time identified to be LXR antagonistic chemical which was also identified to induce foam cell formation through LXRα antagonism, demonstrating efavirenz-related atherosclerotic effects.