Method for evaluating mutagenicity
AssigneeMobil Oil Corporation
InventorsGary R. Blackburn, Carl R. Mackerer, Ceinwen A. Schreiner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for rapidly and reliably determining the potential carcinogenic activity of hydrocarbon mixtures which is especially useful for those of petroleum origin. A sample of the mixture is nitrated under conditions effective to convert the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons to their nitrated derivatives, and without separation of the nitrated components, the product is incubated with an inoculum of Salmonella typhimurium tester strain T98. The excessive production of revertant colonies is a measure of the mutagenic activity of the oil, and this measure is shown to correlate with dermal carcinogenic activity.
Claims11
A method for evaluating the relative mutagenic activity of a parent hydrocarbon mixture derived from petroleum, which method comprises:
- contacting a sample of said hydrocarbon mixture with nitric acid under conditions effective to nitrate the mutagenic components thereof;
- recovering from said nitric acid contacted hydrocarbon mixture a hydrocarbon mixture including nitrated mutagens;
- incubating without addition of a liver metabolic activation system an inoculum of a histidine deficient strain of Salmonella typhimurium in the presence of said nitrated mutagens;
- counting the number of revertant colonies so produced;
- and
- comparing said number with those obtained by the same steps from a reference series of different petroleum derived hydrocarbon mixtures of known mutagenic potency to determine the mutagenic potency of said nitrated mutagens, wherein the mutagenic potency of said nitrated mutagens correlates with the mutagenic potency of said parent hydrocarbon mixture.
A method for determining the relative dermal carcinogenic potency of a parent hydrocarbon mixture derived from petroleum, which method comprises:
- contacting a sample of said hydrocarbon mixture with nitric acid under conditions effective to nitrate the mutagenic components thereof;
- recovering from said nitric acid contacted hydrocarbon mixture a hydrocarbon mixture including nitrated mutagens;
- incubating without addition of a liver metabolic activation system an inoculum of a histidine-deficient strain of Salmonella typhimurium in the presence of said nitrated mutagens;
- counting the number of revertant colonies so produced;
- and
- comparing said number with those obtained by the same steps from a reference series of different petroleum derived hydrocarbon mixtures of known dermal carcinogenic potency. to determine the dermal carcinogenic potency of said nitrated mutagens, wherein the dermal carcinogenic potency of said nitrated mutagens correlates with the dermal carcinogenic potency of said parent hydrocarbon mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.