Mutagenic and cell transforming activities of 1-chlor-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNCB) and squaric-acid-dibutylester (SADBE).

In the Salmonella/microsome test, DNCB was mutagenic for TA100, TA1538, and TA98, whereas SADBE did not induce mutations in the test system. The ability of the compounds to transform BHK cells being able to reproduce in semi-solid agar was investigated. DNCB induced a dose-dependent increase in transformed cells, SADBE did not show this effect.