Screening and Analysis of Thyroid-Disrupting Chemicals Based on Selective Recognition for a Thyroxine-Binding Peptide

Thyroxine (TH) is an essential hormone for animal growth and development. Environmental exposure to thyroid-disrupting chemicals (TDCs) can alter the synthesis, secretion and transport of TH. In this study, a peptide with strong affinity for L-thyroxine (T4) was screened and synthesized, followed by attached to a gold electrode surface and then evaluated for its selective recognition ability for 36 chemicals with known activities towards TTR. The peptide-Au electrode could distinguish TCDs and thyroid-nondisrupting chemicals (non-TCDs) by impedance. The sensitivity, specificit and correct assignment of TDC action for these test compounds were 61.5, 73.9 and 69.4%, respectively. This method can therefore be used as a rapid, specific and cost effective way to identify TCDs.