Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Recently, perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) has been ubiquitously detected in the environment as well as in human serum. Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), a precursor of PFOA, undergo biodegradation via several metabolic routes which leads to formation of various biodegradation products. The degradation of FTOHs produces an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde that seems possibly to be electrophilic and may react with cellular macromolecules including DNA. METHODS: We investigated the genotoxicity of three FTOHs (6∶2 FTOH, 8∶2 FTOH and 10∶2 FTOH), PFOA and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) using theumu test. RESULTS: The FTOHs, PFOA and PFOS showed no significant increases in β-galactosidase activity at 0-1000 μM in the absence of S9 mix. The results were unchanged by the metabolic activation with S9 mix. CONCLUSION: The genotoxicities of FTOHs, PFOA or PFOS are not detectable using the present method, suggesting that they are unlikely mutagens.