Short-Term Bioassay of Complex Organic Mixtures: Part II, Mutagenicity Testing

Abstract

The feasibility of using short-term mutagenicity assays to predict the potential biohazard of various crude and complex test materials has been examined in a coupled chemical and biological approach. The principal focus-of the research has involved the preliminary chemical characterization and preparation for bioassay, followed by testing in the Salmonella histidine reversion assay described by Ames (1). The mutagenicity tests are intended to (a) act as predictors of profound long-range health effects such as mutagenesis and/ or carcinogenesis, (b) act as a mechanism to rapidly isolate and identify a hazardous biological agent in a complex mixture, and (c) function as a measure of biological activity correlating baseline data with changes in process conditions. Since complex mixtures can be fractionated and approached in these short-term assays, information reflecting on the actual compounds responsible for the biological effect may be accumulated. Thus, mutagenicity tests will (d) aid in identifying the specific hazardous compounds involved and in establishing priorities for further valid testing, testing in whole animals, and more definitive chemical analysis and monitoring.KeywordsPolycyclic Aromatic HydrocarbonMutagenic ActivityMutagenicity TestBasic FractionNatural CrudeThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.