Comparison of mutagenic activities of several peroxyacyl nitrates

Salmonella typhimurium, strain TA100 was exposed to a series of peroxyacyl nitrates including peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), peroxypropionyl nitrate (PPN), peroxybutyryl nitrate (PBN), peroxybenzoyl nitrate (PBzN), and chloroperoxyacetyl nitrate (CPAN). Gas‐phase concentrations for the individual exposures were in the high part per billion by volume ppbv range. The dose was determined from the deposition rate and measured from the net decrease of the test compound in the exposure chamber and the exposure time. The mutagenic activity for each compound determined from the dose‐response relationship gave values ranging from 250 (PBN) to 6,500 (PBzN) revertants/μmol. The mutagenic activity for CPAN could not be determined, due to an interference from chloroacetaldehyde. The difficulties of quantifying the actual gas‐phase chemical dose the bacteria are exposed to in this variant of the Ames test are delineated.