Hg-supported phospholipid monolayer as rapid screening device for low molecular weight narcotic compounds in water

This study positions the fabricated Pt/Hg-supported phospholipid sensor element in the context of more conventional biomembrane-based screening platforms. The technology has been used together with immobilised artificial membrane (IAM) chromatography and COSMOmic simulation methods to screen the interaction of a series of low molecular weight narcotic organic compounds in water with phosphatidylcholine (PC) membranes. For these chemicals it is shown that toxicity to aquatic species is related to compound hydrophobicity which is associated with compound accumulation in the phospholipid membrane as modelled by IAM chromatography measurements and COSMOmic simulations. In contrast, the Hg-supported dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) sensor element records membrane damage/modification which is indirectly related to general toxicity and directly related to compound structure. Electrochemical limit of detection (LoD) values depend on molecular structure and range from 20 μmolL−1 for substituted phenols to 23 mmolL−1 for aliphatics. Rapid cyclic voltammetry (RCV) “fingerprints” showed that the major structural classes of compounds: alkyl/chlorobenzenes, substituted phenols, quaternary ammonium compounds and neutral amines interacted distinctively with the DOPC on Hg and that these observations correlated with and supported those predicted by the COSMOmic simulations of the compound/DMPC association. In addition, the compatibility of the electrochemical and COSMOmic methods validates the electrochemical device as a meaningful high throughput technology to screen compounds in water and report on the mechanistic details of their interaction with phospholipid layers.