Summary
Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic compound which is also an ethylene metabolite. Ethylene oxide forms macromulecular adducts with proteins and nucleic acids. Targets in proteins are the amino acids cysteine, histidine and valine (if N-terminal, as in hemoglobin). The major DNA adduct is 7-(2-hydroxyethyl)-guanine. Methods for detection of this adduct include radiolabelling and GC-MS. The sensitivity of current GC/MS methods can be improved by selective enrichment of adducts from DNA samples. Studies in this direction are presently being performed.
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Bolt, H.M., Peter, H. & Föst, U. Analysis of macromolecular ethylene oxide adducts. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 60, 141–144 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378688
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378688