Tailoring LC approaches to address the chemical biology of toxic metals in humans

The global contamination of ∼15% of agricultural soils with toxic metal (loid) species (TMS) including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and nickel compromises food safety and chronically exposes millions of people to these inorganic pollutants which are absorbed into the bloodstream to various degrees. The health ramifications that pertain to this arguably biggest problem in the postgenomic world remain poorly defined, particularly with regard to babies, children, pregnant women and industrial workers. To better understand the underlying complex exposure-response relationship, it is crucial to address chemical biology related research questions unfolding within the blood-organ nexus. Since the associated complexity makes it particularly challenging to causally link human exposure to exceedingly small daily TMS doses with adverse health effects and environmental diseases, the use of appropriate analytical tools is paramount. One research tool whose full potential to probe dynamic bioinorganic processes has not yet been fully recognized is liquid chromatography (LC). Recent results will be used to highlight how LC methods can be tailored to address chemical biology questions pertaining to toxic mercury and cadmium species at near physiological conditions. It will be argued that the inherent versatility of LC methods makes it eminently suitable to tackle questions regarding the exposure-response relationship of other emerging TMS to more effectively deal with this emerging public health crisis.