Mutagenicity of chlorinated cyclopentadienes due to metabolic activation

Abstract

Chlorinated cyclopentadienes of which hexachlorocyclopentadiene is used for pesticide synthesis is suggested to undergo metabolic conversion forming acylating and possibly mutagenic tetrachlorocyclopentadienone. Tetra-, penta-, and hexachlorocyclopentadiene differ in the chlorine substitution at C-1. Oxygen insertion into C-1, which results in the formation of the dienone should depend on the degree of chlorine substitution at this position. The dienone is not stable and can only be isolated as the dimer. To detect its formation an in vitro-test system, comprising mouse liver microsomes for metabolic activation and E. coll K 12 ( 343 113 ) to detect mutagenicity, has been used. According to the previous suggestions tetrachlorocyclopentadiene and pentachlorocyclopentadiene were highly mutagenic after metabolic activation, whereas hexachlorocyclopentadiene was not.