COMPLEX MIXTURE ANALYSIS USING PROTEIN EXPRESSION AS A QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE TOOL

Some proteins in organisms exposed to chemicals in stressful amounts or toxic concentrations show increased expression; others show decreased expression. These inducible and repressible proteins together potentially provide qualitative and quantitative diagnoses of components in complex mixtures of chemicals. We examined sets of proteins synthesized by Daphnia magna after exposure to mixtures of a cationic polyamide epichlorhydrin adduct (Kymene) and a combined assortment of water-extractable substances from chemi-thermal-mechanical pulp (CTMP) in lab water. Proteins were identified, after extracting from Daphnia magna, by gel filtration and silver staining, or by radiolabeling and then gel separation. Patterns of proteins induced by Kymene(R) and by CTMP extracts were distinguishable in lab water, but there was interaction between them. The method of identifying and quantifying Kymene, however, was successful using lab simulations of mixtures. The method was tested using wastewater samples from a paper manufacturing plant. Kymene could be detected against variable levels and types of additional substances. But, again, there was interference, perhaps due to Kymene binding to other anionic polymers sometimes present in the samples. Interpretations from analyses of protein expression were consistent with results from sublethal Ceriodaphnia dubia assays.