Mutagenecity of fluorocarbon blood substitute

Assessment of genotoxicity on perfluorocarbon emulsion (PFE) was carried out at both gene and cellular levels Histidine-requiring mutants of Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 strains with or without S9 mix activation were used for point mutation tests. Neither increasing of revertants nor inhibition of bacterial growth was seen when 20% of PFE 0.1-0.6 ml were directly added to the plates. Rabbits and monkeys were used for study on cytogenetic effects of PFE. Pe-ripheral lymphocytes were sampled before and after infusion of PFE for micronuclei tests and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE). Bone marrow cells were used for chromosome aberration studies. Rabbits infused with PFE 4 ml/kg/d x5 d and at 20 ml/kg/d x7 d or monkey at 60 ml/kg show-ed that the frequencies of micronuclei cells or the number of SCE/cell were not increased. The rate of chromosome aber-ration in the treated animals were not in-creased either. The dose used for monkeys in the study (60 ml/kg) was equivalent to the maximal dose used in the clinics. In the rabbits, after infusion of PFE 4 ml/kg/d x5 d, we found PFE 4mg/g bone marrow and 0.4 mg/ml blood. These results indi-cated that PFE caused no genotoxic ef-fects even at the high dose 60 ml/kg.