Monitoring genotoxicity during the photocatalytic degradation of p ‐nitrophenol
Author(s) -
Sekler M. Shani,
Levi Y.,
Polyak B.,
Novoa A.,
Dunlop P. S. M.,
Byrne J. A.,
Marks R. S.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of applied toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1099-1263
pISSN - 0260-437X
DOI - 10.1002/jat.1029
Subject(s) - genotoxicity , nitrophenol , degradation (telecommunications) , environmental chemistry , photocatalysis , toxicology , chemistry , environmental science , toxicity , medicine , biology , biochemistry , computer science , telecommunications , catalysis
Abstract p ‐Nitrophenol is a common structural unit of many pesticides and was chosen as a model compound to monitor genotoxicity during photocatalytic degradation. The genotoxicity of p ‐nitrophenol (PNP) and its breakdown products was measured using a bioluminescent bacterial bioassay, Vitotox™. The genotoxic potential decreased with the concomitant photocatalytic degradation of the parent PNP concentration. The rate of genotoxicity reduction was slower than the rate of removal of the parent PNP, due to the formation of genotoxic by‐products. After 6 h of photocatalytic treatment the total genotoxicity was removed. These results indicate that bioassays can be used as a simple and highly sensitive method for monitoring the general toxicity of chemical pollutants before, during and after photocatalytic treatment or other destructive processes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.