Mutagenicity monitoring of airborne particulate matter (PM10) in the Czech Republic

• Published in: Mutation research. Genetic toxicology and environmental mutagenesis 1999-08, Vol.444 (2), p.373-386
• Main Authors: CERNA, M, PASTORKOVA, A, VRBIKOVA, V, SMID, J, RÖSSNER, P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air; Airborne particulate mutagenicity; Ames test; benzo(a)pyrene; Biological and medical sciences; Environmental pollutants toxicology; Kado microsuspension assay; Medical sciences; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Toxicology; Urban air particulate matter; YG tester strain
• ISSN: 1383-5718; 1879-3592
• DOI: 10.1016/S1383-5718(99)00107-2

The mutagenic activities associated with inhalable airborne particulate matter (PM10) collected over a year in four towns (Czech Republic) have been determined. The dichloromethane extracts were tested for mutagenicity using the Ames plate incorporation test and the Kado microsuspension test both with Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and its derivative YG1041 tester strains in the presence and absence of S9 mixture. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of both bacterial mutagenicity tests and to choose the appropriate indicator strain for monitoring purposes. To elucidate the correlation between mutagenicity and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the concentration of PAHs in the air samples were determined by GC/MS. In general, the significant mutagenicity was obtained in organic extracts of all samples, but differences according to the method and tester strain used were observed. In both mutagenicity tests, the extractable organic mass (EOM) exhibited higher mutagenicity in the YG1041 strain (up to 97 rev/μg in the plate incorporation and 568 rev/μg in the microsuspension tests) than those in TA98 (up to 2.2 rev/μg in the plate incorporation and 14.5 rev/μg in the microsuspension tests). In the plate incorporation test, the direct mutagenic activity in YG1041 was on average 60-fold higher and in microsuspension assay 45-fold higher with respect to strain TA98. In the presence of S9 mix, the mutagenic potency in YG1041 declined ( P