STUDY OF THE GENOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF 5 CHLORINATED PROPANONES USING THESOS CHROMOTEST, THE AMES-FLUCTUATION TEST AND THE NEWT MICRONUCLEUS TEST

Three short-term assays (the SOS chromotest, the Ames-fluctuation test and the newt micronucleus test) were carried out to evaluate the geno toxicity of five chlorinated propanones identified in several chlorina ted waters (monochloropropanone, 1,1-dichloropropanone, 1,3-dichloropr opanone, 1,1,1-trichloropropanone and 1,1,3-trichloropropanone). In th e SOS chromotest, all the compounds except monochloropropanone were fo und to induce primary DNA damage in Escherichia coli. With the fluctua tion test, all five chloropropanones showed mutagenic activity on Salm onella typhimurium strain TA100. The newt micronucleus assay detected a clastogenic effect on the peripheral blood erythrocytes of Pleurodel es waltl larvae only for 1,3-dichloropropanone and 1,1,3-trichloroprop anone. Moreover, two structure-activity relationships are noticeable: (1) chloropropanones with chlorine substituents on both carbon positio ns (1,3-DCP and 1,1,3-TCP) are by far more genotoxic than chloropropan ones substituted only on one carbon position (1,1-DCP and 1,1,1-TCP); (2) the increase of the number of chlorine substituents decreases the mutagenic activity (fluctuation test) of the chlorinated propanones st udied.