| Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are brominated flame retardants that have been, and still are, used in consumer products. They are now ubiquitous in the environment. This may present environmental health risks given that toxicological studies have demonstrated several adverse effects in animals.;Most BDE congeners were accumulative in mink tissues and on a whole-body basis. Maternal transfer of PBDEs favoured lactational transfer rather than transplacental transfer. Different BDE congeners exhibited different biomagnification potential, depending on the bromine substitution pattern. The biomagnification factors were significantly higher than one for some PBDEs, but biotransformation, such as the detected hydroxylation process mediated by mink hepatic microsomes, clearly limited the biomagnification of some other PBDEs.;Taking mink as a study subject, this thesis examined the tissue distribution, maternal transfer, biotransformation, and biomagnification of the technical penta-BDE mixture, DE-71. Moreover, this thesis studied in vitro biotransformation pathways using mink hepatic microsomes and rat intestinal microflora. |
