Activity of nitro‐polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in the sister chromatid exchange assay with and without metabolic activation

Abstract

Nitro‐polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons are found in diesel particulates. These compounds are potent mutagens in the Ames test. To determine whether nitro‐polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons are active in a mammalian cell assay, 1‐nitropyrene, 1,8‐dinitropyrene, 2‐nitrofluorene, and 4‐nitrobiphenyl were incubated with cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells. The frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) was measured in the presence and absence of rat liver S‐9 mix. The addition of S‐9 mix resulted in a large increase in the SCEs induced by all four compounds.