Arsenic–selenium and mercury–selenium bonds in biology

When rabbits are simultaneous injected with arsenite and selenite or mercuric chloride and selenite, compounds with As–Se and Hg–Se bonds are formed in the bloodstream. The combined application of liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has revealed the molecular structure of these toxicologically important compounds and provided insight into their mechanism of formation. The glutathione-driven formation of these compounds in the bloodstream fundamentally links the metabolism of the environmental pollutants mercuric mercury and arsenite with that of the essential ultratrace element selenium, which establishes a feasible mechanism by which the chronic low-level exposure of various human populations to these toxic metals and metalloid compounds is linked to human diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.