The paper reports the screening results of two metal-based antineoplastic drugs with mutagenic potential, such as Romcis (trademark of Cisplatinum, produced in Romania) and diphenylantimony(III) diisopropyldithiophosphate (PADTF). Their effects were compared with those induced by Cyclophosphamide. Two mutagenicity tests, the SOS Chromotest and cytogenetic analysis were applied. The tests were c...

Disinfection of surface drinking water, in particular water chlorination, produces many by-products with genotoxic and/or carcinogenic activity. The aim of this research was to evaluate the genotoxicity of surface water after treatment with different disinfectants by means of in situ plant genotoxicity assays. The study was carried out in a pilot plant using lake water after sedimentation and f...

3-Nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) is an energetic explosive proposed for use in weapon systems, to reduce the sensitivity of warheads. In order to develop toxicity data for safety assessment, we investigated the genotoxicity of NTO, using a battery of genotoxicity tests, which included the Ames test, Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell chromosome aberration test, L5178Y TK(+/-) mouse lymphoma muta...

A great many studies have been carried out on the toxicology of ethanol, the majority in the context of the effects of the consumption of alcohol in beverages. Published information relevant to the assessment of the possible genotoxic potential of ethanol has been reviewed and evaluated in terms of the safety of ethanol as an industrial chemical, rather than as a component of beverages. The ava...

A database of mutagenicity test results of new chemicals has been developed. Based on the amendment of the Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL) in 1979, manufacturers and importers in Japan are required to register any new work place chemicals with bacterial mutagenicity test results. At present more than ten thousand substances have been examined. We have surveyed correlations between 44 su...

Mutagens in the environment may represent a long-term risk for ecosystems. The reproductive potential of populations can be affected by alterations in the fecundity and offspring viability caused by germ cell mutations. Despite the ecological relevance of these effects, there are few studies on germ cell mutagenicity in natural populations. Biomphalaria glabrata was chosen for this study becaus...

Genotoxicity testing is an important component of toxicity assessment. As illustrated by the European registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals (REACH) directive, it concerns all the chemicals used in industry. The commonly used in vivo mammalian tests appear to be ill adapted to tackle the large compound sets involved, due to throughput, cost, and ethical issues. Th...

Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used in many sectors, such as food, medicine, military, and sport, but their unique characteristics may cause deleterious health effects. Close attention is being paid to metal NP genotoxicity; however, NP genotoxic/carcinogenic effects and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this review, we address some metal and metal oxide NPs of in...

The in vitro micronucleus (MN) assay is widely used to assess genotoxic potential of the test substances by measuring frequency of MN in cultured mammalian cells. Traditionally, MN frequency has been determined by microscopy. In recent years, a flow cytometric method for enumeration of MN has been developed, which significantly shortens analysis time and enhances assay throughput. However, a ma...