title: Ipso-substitution--the hidden gate to xenobiotic degradation pathways.
abstract: Screening for metabolites of environmental pollutants, the focus is often on transformation products based on well-known pathways. Hydroxylation at unsubstituted positions of the aromatic ring or side chain modifications, followed by meta ring-cleavage pathways are usually considered, whereas less obvious mechanisms are often ignored. Here, a glimpse of the multitude of transformations involving ipso-substitution events, which are often overlooked as such, is presented. These reactions can be catalyzed by a variety of enzymes, proceed via several mechanisms and will often result in metabolites that are not expected to arise from generally known pathways. Hence, there is a future need when looking into transformations of emerging pollutants, to stray from the 'beaten pathways' and explore the possibilities of less obvious mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Institute for Ecopreneurship, Gruendenstrasse 40, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ricken
authors.affiliation: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Institute for Ecopreneurship, Gruendenstrasse 40, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Boris A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Kolvenbach
authors.affiliation: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Institute for Ecopreneurship, Gruendenstrasse 40, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University Xianlin Campus, Xianlin Avenue 163, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: philippe.corvini@fhnw.ch.
authors.forename: Philippe F-X
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Corvini
mesh_terms: D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006900:Hydroxylation; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D015262:Xenobiotics