A generalized toxic polyneuropathy was identified in a 23-year-old woman after excessive intentional inhalation of compressed N2O delivery from cartridges through a whipped-cream dispenser. The chronology of the patient's N2O abuse correlated clearly with two episodes of recurrent polyneuropathy. The toxic effects were limited to the nervous system, primarily involving the peripheral nerves, although some signs suggested a possible effect on the cerebellum or its connections. The findings on sural nerve biopsy were nonspecific, characterized principally by axonal degeneration. Gas chromatographic analysis of the N2O cartridges dispensed through the whipped-cream canister revealed an exposure to N2O and 26 other compounds. Three of these, trichloroethylene, toluene, and phenol, are known neurotoxins.

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Nitro-polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons are found in diesel particulates. These compounds are potent mutagens in the Ames test. To determine whether nitro-polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons are active in a mammalian cell assay, 1-nitropyrene, 1,8-dinitropyrene, 2-nitrofluorene, and 4-nitrobiphenyl were incubated with cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells. The frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) was measured in the presence and absence of rat liver S-9 mix. The addition of S-9 mix resulted in a large increase in the SCEs induced by all four compounds.

Diesel exhaust particulates contain mutagens which are direct-acting in the Ames test. A dichloromethane extract of these particulates was separated by liquid chromatography and analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). 2-Nitrofluorene, a known carcinogen and direct mutagen, was positively identified by comaxima of ion fragments and retention time on the gas chromatograph.