Mutagenicity of alkyl glycidyl ethers in three short-term assays.

The mutagenic potential of glycidol and 7 alkyl glycidyl ethers having straight alkyl chains of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 carbon atoms were examined in a battery of in vitro assays. The battery consisted of the Salmonella/mammalian microsome assay, the L5178Y mouse lymphoma assay, and unscheduled DNA synthesis using W138 cells. The mutagenic potential of the compounds ranged from strongly mutagenic to non-mutagenic; glycidol exhibited the greatest activity. All the ethers through C-4 showed a definite response whole the C-8 or higher ethers showed very weak or no responses. Dose-response curves were obtained by all 3 assays for those compounds that exhibited mutagenic activity. The sensitivity of each assay is discussed, as are the effects of the liver microsome systems used for metabolic activation.