A Comparative-study, With 40 Chemicals, of the Efficiency of the Salmonella Assay and the Sos Chromotest (kit Procedure)

Abstract A comparison was made, for 40 compounds belonging to different chemical classes, of the mutagenicity as measured by the Salmonella assay and of the SOS-inducing potency as measured by the SOS chromotest kit procedure. It was found that most (78%) of the chemicals described as mutagens/carcinogens (14 compounds) were detected with a simplified Ames test procedure, using 3 strains (TA 97, TA 98, TA 100) and 3 concentrations of the tested material. The SOS chromotest, carried out following the recommendations of the commercially available kits, revealed that only 4 Ames test-positive compounds were mutagenic towards E. coli strain PQ 37.