Partitioning of organophosphorus pesticides into phosphatidylcholine small unilamellar vesicles studied by second-derivative spectrophotometry

• Derivative spectra of pesticides in liposome suspensions showed isosbestic points.
• Partition coefficients (Kps) of 8 pesticides were determined as a lipophilic index.
• Kp values reflected the chemical structure difference of the pesticides.
• There was no linear relationship between the log Kp and log Poctanol values.
• Kp is a good index to predict the bioaccumulation of organophosphorus pesticides.

In order to quantitatively examine the lipophilicity of the widely used organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) chlorfenvinphos (CFVP), chlorpyrifos-methyl (CPFM), diazinon (DZN), fenitrothion (FNT), fenthion (FT), isofenphos (IFP), profenofos (PFF) and pyraclofos (PCF), their partition coefficient (Kp) values between phosphatidylcholine (PC) small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) and water (liposome–water system) were determined by second-derivative spectrophotometry. The second-derivative spectra of these OPs in the presence of PC SUV showed a bathochromic shift according to the increase in PC concentration and distinct derivative isosbestic points, demonstrating the complete elimination of the residual background signal effects that were observed in the absorption spectra. The Kp values were calculated from the second-derivative intensity change induced by addition of PC SUV and obtained with a good precision of R.S.D. below 10%. The Kp values were in the order of CPFM > FT > PFF > PCF > IFP > CFVP > FNT ⩾ DZN and did not show a linear correlation relationship with the reported partition coefficients obtained using an n-octanol–water system (R2 = 0.530). Also, the results quantitatively clarified the effect of chemical-group substitution in OPs on their lipophilicity. Since the partition coefficient for the liposome–water system is more effective for modeling the quantitative structure–activity relationship than that for the n-octanol–water system, the obtained results are toxicologically important for estimating the accumulation of these OPs in human cell membranes.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide