Mutagenicity studies of ambient airborne particles. I. Comparison of solvent systems
Krishna, G.; Ong, T.; Whong, W.Z.; Nath, J.
Mutation Research 124(2): 113-120
1983
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-5107 PMID: 6358884 Document Number: 210027
Organic materials were extracted from airborne particles by shaking with different solvent systems including acetone, benzene, cyclohexane, dichloromethane (DCM), methanol, a mixture of acetone and DCM and a combination of benzene, cyclohexane and methanol. The solvent-extracted materials were tested for mutagenic activity with the Ames Salmonella/microsomal assay system. Acetone- and cyclohexane-extracted materials gave the highest and lowest mutagenic activities, respectively. Re-extraction experiments confirmed that most of the mutagenic material from air particles cannot be extracted by cyclohexane. The sequential extraction with acetone followed by DCM gave a better mutagenic response than acetone alone or acetone in combination with DCM. Extraction with varying amounts of solvent indicated that 1 ml of acetone/mg of airborne particle reached the maximum recovery of mutagenic material.