MUTAGENIC PROPERTIES OF 1,2,3,4-TETRAHYDRONAPHTHALINE-1-HYDROPEROXIDE, A MODEL-COMPOUND FOR ORGANIC PEROXIDES IN DIESEL EXHAUST

The genotoxicity of the organic peroxide 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthaline -1-hydroperoxide (or tetraline-1-hydroperoixde, THP) was investigated in the Ames assay without a metabolic activating system using Salmonel la typhimurium strains TA 98, TA 100, and TA 102. THP served as a mode l compound for higher organic peroxides, which can arise from autoxida tion of hydrocarbons, e.g. in Diesel exhaust. While THP induced no mut agenic response in S. typhimurium TA 98, it was directly mutagenic in strains TA 100 and TA 102. These data. along with findings on mutageni c properties of other alkyl hydroperoxides, suggest that such compound s deserve further investigation regarding their genotoxic potential an d occurrence in the environment.