Motor gasoline toxicity.

The toxicology of motor gasoline is reviewed and the subject considered in two ways. First is as a problem involving a widely used commodity material and the second as a model for the study of complex mixtures. Previously reported subchronic and chronic inhalation studies showing primarily nephrotoxicity in male rats are summarized. Questions of experimental design are discussed including sample verification, species, and dose selection and choice of exposure circumstances. Low boiling, highly branched hydrocarbons primarily in the 6 to 10 carbon number range are implicated. Still unanswered is the basis for the response in male rats only and the precise mechanism of action.