Origin of hydroxylated brominated diphenyl ethers: natural compounds or man-made flame retardants?

Quantification of Hydroxylated Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (OH-BDEs), Triclosan, and Related Compounds in Freshwater and Coastal Systems

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-BDEs) are a new class of contaminants of emerging concern, but the relative roles of natural and anthropogenic sources remain uncertain. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as brominated flame retardants, and they are a potential source of OH-BDEs via oxidative transformations. OH-BDEs are also natural products in marine systems. In th...

Neonatal Developmental Neurotoxicity of Brominated Flame Retardants, the Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)

In vitro estrogenicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, hydroxylated PDBEs, and polybrominated bisphenol A compounds.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used in large quantities as additive flame retardants in plastics and textile materials. PBDEs are persistent compounds and have been detected in wildlife and in human adipose tissue and plasma samples. In this study, we investigated the (anti)estrogenic potencies of several PBDE congeners, three hydroxylated PBDEs (HO-PBDEs), and differently brominate...

Analytical Aspects for Determination of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Environmental Samples

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are brominated flame retardants (BFRs) which have routinely been added to consumer products for several decades in a successful effort to reduce fire-related injury and property damage. Recently, concern for this emerging class of chemicals has risen because of their occurrence and observed increasing temporal trends in the environment and in human biota. ...

Metagenomic discovery of polybrominated diphenyl ether biosynthesis by marine sponges

Naturally produced polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) pervade the marine environment and structurally resemble toxic man-made brominated flame retardants. PBDEs bioaccumulate in marine animals and are likely transferred to the human food chain. However, the biogenic basis for PBDE production in one of their most prolific sources, marine sponges of the order Dysideidae, remains unidentified....