Formaldehyde is a large production volume chemical widely distributed in research laboratories, industrial workplaces, and home and personal environments. Inhalation studies with formaldehyde have documented its ability to produce squamous cell carcinomas in rats. When primary hamster embryo cells were treated by gaseous exposure to formaldehyde or by incorporation into the medium, a dose-related increase in the frequency of SA7 virus transformation was produced. The length of chemical treatment and the time interval before subsequent addition of transforming virus was critical, with two-hr treatment times as the most efficient. Treatment by gaseous exposure permitted utilization of lower treatment concentrations. Determination of formaldehyde concentrations in culture media of bioassay dishes treated by this method documented that 2.2 micrograms/ml produced significantly enhanced viral transformation. Exposure of hamster embryo cells to formaldehyde by these methods produces reproducible and quantitative genotoxic effects.
Ethylene oxide is a classical mutagen and a carcinogen based on evidence from studies in experimental animals. It is widely distributed in industrial, research, hospital, and food environments. In an effort to explore the use of newly developed methods for exposing mammalian cells to gaseous or volatile mutagens/carcinogens, Chinese hamster V79 cells were treated for 2 hr with gaseous ethylene oxide, in sealed treatment chambers, and assayed for survival and mutagenic response by analysis of induced resistance to 6-thioguanine or ouabain. Significant numbers of mutants were produced at both genetic markers by 1,250-7,500 ppm ethylene oxide. Similarly, primary Syrian hamster embryo cells were treated for 2 or 20 hr with gaseous ethylene oxide in sealed treatment chambers and subsequently assayed for survival and increased sensitivity to SA7 virus transformation. Treatment concentrations extended from toxic to several nontoxic concentrations. After 2-hr ethylene oxide treatment at 625-2,500 ppm a significant enhancement of virus transformation was observed. At 20 hr after treatment no enhancement was observed. Treatment of hamster cells with ethylene oxide in both bioassay systems yielded concentration-related, quantitative results.
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