A strategy for analyzing formaldehyde in beer, wine, spirits, and unrecorded alcohol was developed, and 508 samples from worldwide origin were analyzed. In the first step, samples are qualitatively screened using a simple colorimetric test with the purpald reagent, which is extremely sensitive for formaldehyde (detection limit 0.1 mg/L). 210 samples (41%) gave a positive purpald reaction. In th...

Mutants of the methylotrophic actinomycete Amycolaropsis methanolica unable to grow on methanol as carbon source were isolated and characterized. Mutants specifically affected in methanol utilization were deficient in formaldehyde assimilation. Mutants blocked in the first step of primary alcohol oxidation (Cl-C4) had lost activity of the tetrazolium-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase, a three-com...

In 1905 Voisenet described a color reaction given by proteins in the presence of an aldehyde and an oxidizing agent (l), and the following year Rosenheim found that the color produced by tryptophan and formaldehyde is spectroscopically identical with that produced with glyoxylic acid (2). Neither of these substances is readily available in a form suitable for the preparation of reproducible rea...

Mutations truncating a single copy of the tumor suppressor, BRCA2, cause cancer susceptibility. In cells bearing such heterozygous mutations, we find that a cellular metabolite and ubiquitous environmental toxin, formaldehyde, stalls and destabilizes DNA replication forks, engendering structural chromosomal aberrations. Formaldehyde selectively depletes BRCA2 via proteasomal degradation, a mech...

The metabolism of the rat esophageal carcinogen A/-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBzA) was studied using microsomes prepared from liver and esophageal mucosa of untreated male Sprague-Dawley rats. NMBzA was extensively metabolized to benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, and formaldehyde by hepatic microsomes. The rate of metabolism at the benzyl moiety was 10-fold higher than that at the methyl moiety. M...

The use of formaldehyde as a biological reagent occurred rather late in the history of histological methodology. The reason for this lay not in any lack of astuteness on the part of pathologists and histologists, but rather with the late development of formaldehyde manufacture by the chemical industry. While formaldehyde was discovered by Butlerov in 1859, practical aspects of the manufacture o...

Plastics and glues are common causes of occupational dermatoses, but only few reports have dealt with patch-test reactions caused by plastic and glue allergens. Patients exposed to plastics and remitted to an occupational dermatology clinic, were patch-tested with 50-53 plastic and glue allergens during a 6-year period. Conventional patch-test techniques were used. The most common causes of all...

The preservation and demonstration of anatomical specimens that retain much of their natural features has been a long-standing goal of anatomists, pathologists and other medical educators. Preservation of most biological tissues is performed using liquids such as formaldehyde, alcohol, and glycerin. Although these commonly used liquids are efficient, they have many disadvantages (Baptista et al...

The increasing use of alcohol as an alternative fuel to gasoline or diesel can increase emission of formaldehyde, an organic gas that is irritant to the mucous membranes. The respiratory system is the major target of air pollutants and its major defense mechanism depends on the continuous activity of the cilia and the resulting constant transportation of mucous secretion. The present study was ...