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TOXICITY OF AROMATIC AEROBIC BIOTRANSFORMATION PRODUCTS OF TOLUENE TO HELA CELLS
Citation:
Shen, Y. AND C. West*. TOXICITY OF AROMATIC AEROBIC BIOTRANSFORMATION PRODUCTS OF TOLUENE TO HELA CELLS. BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 60:177-184, (1998).
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Description:
Petroleum contamination of groundwater is widely recognized as a serious environmental problem. Toluene (methylbenzene) occurs naturally in crude oil and is commonly found as a contaminant in the subsurface as a result of waste disposal and storage activities. Biological transformation and volatilization are the major removal mechanisms for toluene contamination of soils and groundwater. Biological transformation may be expedited through the introduction of additional oxygen, alternate electron acceptors, and/or nutrients. Toluene can be aerobically transformed via five pathways, with initial hydroxylation at the ortho (Shields et al. 1989), meta (Kaphammer et al. 1991), or para (Whited and Gibson 199 1) positions, on the methyl group (Worsey and Williams 1975), or with deoxygenation at the 2,3 positions (Gibson et al. 1979). The major biotransformation products include catechol (CAT), 3-methylcatechol (3MC), 4-methylcatechol (4MC), o-cresol (OC), m-cresol (MC), p-cresol (PC), benzaldehyde (BZ), and methyl benzoate (MB). One of the concerns raised is the potential hazard of major biotransformation products (Aust et al. 1994). The purpose of this investigation was to test the cytotoxicity of these aromatic intermediates of aerobic microbial transformation of toluene in Hela cells. Inhibition of cell growth, protein synthesis, and neutral red uptake were used in the present study as parameters of cytotoxicity induced by these transformation products.
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