title: Reaction Pathways and Kinetics of a Cyanobacterial Neurotoxin β-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine (BMAA) during Chlorination.
abstract: β-N-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), a probable cause of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS/PDC), or Alzheimer's disease, has been identified in more than 20 cyanobacterial genera. However, its removal and fate in drinking water has never been reported before. In this study, the reaction of BMAA with chlorine, a common drinking-water oxidant/disinfectant, was investigated. A liquid chromatograph coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was employed to quantify BMAA and its intermediates. Upon chlorination, four chlorinated intermediates, each with one or two chlorines, were identified. The disappearance of BMAA caused by chlorine follows a second-order reaction, with the rate constant k1is 5.0 × 104M-1s-1at pH ∼7.0. The chlorinated intermediates were found to further react with free chlorine, exhibiting a second-order rate constant k3= 16.8 M-1s-1. After all free chlorine was consumed, the chlorinated intermediates autodecomposed slowly with a first order rate constant k2= 0.003 min-1; when a reductant was added, these chlorinated intermediates were then reduced back to BMAA. The results as described shed a useful light on the reactivity, appearance, and removal of BMAA in the chlorination process of a drinking-water system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering and Global Water Quality Research Center, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan City 70101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering and Global Water Quality Research Center, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan City 70101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wan-Ru
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2333-2855
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering and Global Water Quality Research Center, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan City 70101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Zhi-Quan
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering and Global Water Quality Research Center, National Cheng Kung University , Tainan City 70101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsair-Fuh
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2439-9090
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D054879:Halogenation; D007700:Kinetics; D009498:Neurotoxins
chemical_list: D009498:Neurotoxins