Victoria Reyes
Texas A&M International University Abstract Arsenic can be found in many places on Earth. This includes from natural sources and as a by-product from different anthropogenic activities. The fact that arsenic can be found so commonly on Earth has lead to the contamination of several countries’ drinking water. This has put many people at risk for arsenic poisoning. There are many complications that come from the continuous ingestion of this metal. Furthermore, research has shown there are more ways to ingest arsenic than just from drinking contaminated water. This includes eating crops that were grown with contaminated soil or water and eating meat from animals that are either …show more content…
It is found all over the world in many different environments. As can be found in water and in soil as well as inside many living organisms. It is a metalloid, meaning it is an element that presents metal and non-metal properties. As exists in the world in inorganic and organic forms. It is used for the production of herbicides, pesticides and wood preservatives, and recently has been used for treatment against acute promyelocytic leukemia (Sun et al., 2014). Although used to treat this cancer, As is a known carcinogen as …show more content…
Once inside the cell arsenate competes with phosphate groups for important biological processes. One of which includes the process of glycolysis. The bond formation between arsenate and 3-phosphoglycerate is formed by the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, rather than the use of a phosphate group. The product, 1-Arsenato 3-phosphoglycerate, highly unstable hydrolyzes and ends with 3-phospoglycerate. Because there is no ATP being synthesized with the formation of 3-phosphoglycerate, there is no net ATP at the end of glycolysis. While this important metabolic pathway is not being inhibited, the decrease in ATP can cause other devastating results for the