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Kinetic and density functional theory (DFT) studies of in vitro reactions of acrylamide with the thiols captopril, L-cysteine, and glutathione
Acrylamide (AA) is an industrially produced conjugated reactive molecule that is used worldwide to synthesise polyacrylamide. This polymer has found numerous applications as a soil conditioner in wastewater treatment, the cosmetics, paper and textile industries, and in the laboratory as a solid support for the separation of proteins by electrophoresis.
Acrylamide is present in carbohydrate-rich foods prepared at high temperatures (roasting, frying, baking, and broiling). These types of food are widely consumed in Jamaica and the Caribbean region, and research has found alarmingly high levels of AA in some popular local and Caribbean foods. This is cause for concern. Human health effects associated with consumption of small amounts of AA over long periods of time are not known. However, studies have suggested that women who eat chips or crisps appear to be at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. Chronic exposure results in neurotoxicity in animals and humans, and AA has been found to be carcinogenic to laboratory animals. As a result, AA was classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 2A: a possible human
The experimental kinetic data and supporting computational studies provide new insight into the mechanism of interaction of AA with these very important sulphur- containing amino acids,
and the effect that water molecules can have on their relative rates of reaction.
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Recognising Outstanding Researchers 2016