Estudo eletroquímico do contaminante emergente 2,6-dicloro- 1,4-benzoquinona em solução aquosa e avaliação da sua interação com DNA

Abstract

The 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCBQ), a subproduct of the water disinfection process, is a highly reactive molecule and has a redox cycle with its semiquinone radicals that lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These species can cause severe oxidative stress in cells leading to the formation of macromolecules, such as oxidized lipids, proteins and DNA. The induced cell damage occur through alkylation of proteins and/or DNA, moreover understanding how this occurs is very complex. Thus, the study of the electrochemical behaviour of DCBQ before and after degradation in aqueous solution on glassy carbon electrode, as well as the investigation of DCBQ and DNA using dsDNAelectrochemical biosensors were performed. The DCBQ showed a reversible process at pH range from 3.7 to 12.6 when was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. For differential pulse voltammetry the peak potential of DCBQ was pH-dependent until pH 9.2. After successive scans occurred the formation of a reversible oxidation product in a pH-dependent process to pH 5.4. The electrochemical behaviour of DCBQ and its oxidation products was also investigated by square wave voltammetry. The reversibility of these two redox processes was confirmed in a wide range of pH. By varying incubation time and electrolyte solutions, DCBQ showed spontaneous degradation which was electrochemically detected by the decrease of the current peak and appearance of a new oxidation peak at less positive potential. The oxidation of the degraded DCBQ was a reversible and pH-dependent process in the pH values of 3.7 ≤ pH ≤ 6.0. Moreover, the degradation of DCBQ in aqueous solution was confirmed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry experiments. Using incubated dsDNA solutions and dsDNA-electrochemical biosensors, it was observed that the DCBQ and pdDCBQ interacted with the dsDNA, through the release of the bases Gua and Ade. The interaction of DCBQ-dsDNA did not show any oxidative damage to DNA by the product(s) formed by DCBQ, since the 8-oxoGua/2,8-DHA was not detected. An analytical methodology for the determination of DCBQ, using gold microelectrode and square wave voltammetry, was developed in the range of 19.9 to 291.0 μmol L-1. The detection and quantification limits of 6.1 and 20.3 μmol L-1, respectively were detected.