| Abstract: | Initial studies on the mutagenicity and metabolism of a novel cyclopenta-PAH, benzj]aceanthrylene, are reported in the Salmonella bacterial system. The spectrum of activity of benzj]aceanthrylene over the 5 Ames tester strains is similar to that of benzoa]pyrene, and the dose-response curves for strain TA98 are comparable. Like other biologically active PAH, benzj]aceanthrylene is a frame-shift mutagen requiring metabolic activation. An interesting feature of the S9 dependence of activity is the low concentration (congruent to 10-fold smaller than for benzoa]pyrene) at which optimal activity is observed. The 1,2-dihydro-1,2-diol (product of metabolism of the cyclopenta-ring) appears to be the predominant metabolite, and implicates the 1,2-oxide as the ultimate mutagenic species. |
