VITOTOX (R) bacterial genotoxicity and toxicity test for the rapid screening of chemicals

The VlTOTOX(R) test is a new bacteriol genotoxicity test that was previousl y shown to be very rapid and sensitive. Initially only one Salmonella typhi murium strain (TA104 recN2-4) was used in the test. In this paper we introd uce a second strain (TA104pr1) that can be used as an internal control to f urther enhance the reliability of the test. We demonstrate the usefulness o f this pr 1 strain in genotoxicity and toxicity testing. We also report on the results of a study where the VITOTOX(R) test was perf ormed on newly synthesized pharmaceutical compounds, or intermediate produc ts in the synthesis of drug candidates. We demonstrate that the test gives identical results when performed independently in two different laboratorie s and that it correlates well with either the Ames test or SOS chromotest. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.