2,6,10-Trimethyldodecane (Farnesane)

Genetic toxicity: in vitro

Administrative data

Endpoint:

in vitro gene mutation study in bacteria

Remarks:

Type of genotoxicity: gene mutation

Type of information:

experimental study

Adequacy of study:

key study

Study period:

August 18-November 24, 2010

Reliability:

1 (reliable without restriction)

Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:

other: Follows OECD guidelines and in accordance with GLP.

Data source

Reference

Reference Type:

study report

Title:

Unnamed

Year:

2010

Report date:

2010

Materials and methods

Test guideline

Test guideline 1

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

OECD Guideline 471 (Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay)

Test guideline 2

Qualifier:

equivalent or similar to guideline

Guideline:

EPA OPPTS 870.5100 - Bacterial Reverse Mutation Test (August 1998)

GLP compliance:

yes

Type of assay:

bacterial reverse mutation assay

Test material

Test material information

Constituent 1

Reference substance name:

2,6,10-trimethyldodecane

EC Number:

622-542-2

Cas Number:

3891-98-3

Molecular formula:

C15H32

IUPAC Name:

2,6,10-trimethyldodecane

Test material form:

other: liquid

Method

Target gene:

Characteristics of Tester Strains

Tester Strain Gene Affected
E. coli WP2 uvrA T/PE


S. typh. TA-97a his D 6610

S. typh. TA-1535 his G 46

S. typh. TA-98 his D 3052

S. typh. TA-100 his G 46

Species / strain

Species / strain / cell type:

bacteria, other:

Additional strain / cell type characteristics:

other: See "Target Gene"

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Metabolic activation system:

S9 (Mitochondrial supernatant from liver of Sprague Dawley® rat induced by Aroclor 1254 )

Test concentrations with justification for top dose:

Based on the cytotoxicity results, five concentrations (50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 nl/plate) of the test article were tested in each of five bacterial tester strains (E. coli WP2 uvrA, and S. typhimurium strains TA-97a, TA-1535, TA-98, and TA-100).

Vehicle / solvent:

- Vehicle(s)/solvent(s) used: 95% ethanol;
- Justification for choice of solvent/vehicle: Prior to the cytotoxic screen, solubility of the test article was checked in tissue culture water, Dimethyl sulfoxide, 95% Ethanol (EtOH) and Acetone. The test article was freely soluble at a concentration of 50 µl/ml in 95% EtOH and Acetone. The Sponsor, in consultation with the Study Director, chose 95% ethanol as the vehicle for the assay.
The test article did not mix well with the top agar in the plates at 1000 and 5000 nl/plate, with and without S9. However, vortexing the test article/agar immediately prior to plating produced a useable mixture.

Controls

Untreated negative controls:

yes

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

True negative controls:

no

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

other: 2-Aminoanthracene (2AA); Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS); Acridine, 6-chloro-9-(3-((2-chloroethyl)amino) propyl)amino-2-methoxy, dihydrochloride (ICR-191); Sodium azide (NaN3); Daunomycin hydrochloride (DM)

Details on test system and experimental conditions:

DURATION
- Preincubation period: overnight cultures were inoculated by the addition of a lyophilized disk of each tester strain to Oxoid No.2 nutrient broth. Ampicillin was added to the nutrient broth to ensure the retention of R-factor plasmid in tester strains TA-97a, TA-98 and TA-100. The cultures were incubated at 37ºC ±2ºC with agitation. The cultures were used after they reach the late exponential growth phase as determined by absorbance readings at 600 nm.

- Exposure duration: 48-72 hours. Top agar supplemented with appropriate amino acids were prepared, as 2 ml aliquots, and maintained at 45-50ºC in sterile culture tubes. Dulbecco’s Phosphate Buffered Saline (DPBS) was added to the tubes not undergoing S9 activation (i.e. without S9, or –S9) to maintain equal dosing volumes. 0.1 ml of bacteria was added to the top agar, followed by 0.1 ml of the test article, vehicle control or positive control. For the activation portion of the test, 0.5 ml of S9 mixture was added last. The contents were vortexed and overlaid onto minimal glucose agar plates. After the mixture had solidified, the plates were incubated at 37ºC ± 2ºC for 48-72 hours. Plates that were not scored immediately following the incubation period were stored at 2-8ºC until scoring.

- Expression time (cells in growth medium): 48 - 72 hours

-Revertant Colony Count:
Counting of the revertants per plate was performed using an AlphaImager™ 2200 (Alpha Innotech Corporation, San Leandro, CA) fluorescence imager. Proper function of the imager was verified against a standard template (e.g. high (1000), medium (100) and low (10) counts) prior to each daily use. The number of revertants was recorded, along with observations of cytotoxicity. Routine examination (under a light microscope) of the bacterial background lawn was used to determine cytotoxicity of the test article. The plates were also examined visually for test article precipitate.

NUMBER OF REPLICATIONS: Five concentrations (50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 nl/plate) of the test article were tested in each of five bacterial tester strains. Two sets of culture plates were dosed per concentration (+S9 and No S9). A vehicle control and positive controls specific to each bacterial strain were treated in the same manner as the test article concentrations.

Evaluation criteria:

Plates were scored based on the number of revertant colony-forming units present per plate. The number of revertants of each test article plate were averaged and plotted versus concentration of the test article. The mean number of revertants of each dose was divided by the mean for the vehicle control value to obtain a ratio to vehicle. In evaluating the data, cytotoxicity of the test article as well as quality checks of the assay were taken into account 3,4.

In general, a 2-fold increase with or without metabolic activation is considered a positive response. Dose-related increases approaching a 2-fold increase are deemed equivocal.

A negative result is determined by the absence of a dose-related increase in all five tester strains, again taking into account cytotoxicity of the test article as well as the quality checks of the assay.

Positive results from the bacterial reverse mutation test indicate that the substance induces point mutations by base substitutions or frame shifts in the genome of either Salmonella typhimurium and/or Escherichia coli. Negative results indicate that under the test conditions, the test substance is not mutagenic in the tested species.

Results and discussion

Test results

Test results 1

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 97

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Test results 2

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 98

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Test results 3

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 100

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Test results 4

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 1535

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Test results 5

Key result

Species / strain:

E. coli WP2 uvr A

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Additional information on results:

TEST-SPECIFIC CONFOUNDING FACTORS
- Effects of pH: None identified
- Effects of osmolality: None identified
- Evaporation from medium: None identified
- Water solubility: See "other confounding effects"
- Precipitation: The plates were also examined visually for test article precipitate. none identified
- Other confounding effects: The test article did not mix well with the top agar in the plates at 1000 and 5000 nl/plate, with and without S9. However, vortexing the test article/agar immediately prior to plating produced a useable mixture. There was no diminution or clearing of the background lawn observed at any of the dosages, and the number of revertants from test article treatments approximated that of the vehicle (95% Ethanol) control. The results showed that the test article was not cytotoxic to TA100 at 1 to 5000 ug/plate. In the main study, 5000 nl/plate was chosen as the top concentration for the test article.

RANGE-FINDING/SCREENING STUDIES:

COMPARISON WITH HISTORICAL CONTROL DATA:

Vehicle Control
The spontaneous reversion rate, as represented by the mean colony forming units (CFU), for each strain of bacteria was measured and compared to in-house historical ranges. All vehicle controls passed the quality check.

Mean CFU Mean CFU per Control – Historical Range
Tester Strain +S9 –S9 +S9 –S9
E. coli WP2uvrA 35.2 35.7 14-90 14-115
S. typh. TA-97a 65.0 56.7 33-211 22-149
S. typh. TA-1535 10.5 8.8 3-26 2-36
S. typh. TA-98 47.0 46.2 7-85 7-84
S. typh. TA-100 72.8 69.3 51-255 56-239

Positive Control
The increase in revertants due to positive control treatment for each tester strain of bacteria was calculated.
All positive controls passed the quality check..

Mean CFU Fold Increase over Vehicle Control
Tester Strain +S9 –S9 +S9 –S9
E. coli WP2uvrA 193.2 547.3 5.5  15.3 
S. typh. TA-97a 601.5 1009.3 9.3  17.8 
S. typh. TA-1535 155.0 468.8 14.8  53.3 
S. typh. TA-98 2694.0 1132.2 57.3  24.5 
S. typh. TA-100 2419.5 486.7 33.2  7.0 

 = 2-fold or more increase over vehicle control

Sterility Test
Solutions and reagents used in the assay were tested for sterility in the main assay. Samples were added to minimal glucose agar plates and incubated at 37ºC ±2ºC for approximately 72 hours. No contaminating microorganisms were detected in any of the reagents used in the assay.

Bacterial Growth Observed
Component Main Test
Top Agar with L-Tryptophan None
Top Agar with L-Histidine and D-Biotin None
Test Article at 50 µg/plate None
95% EtOH None
DPBS None
Nutrient Broth None
10% S9 None

The sterility test passed the quality check.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CYTOTOXICITY: No reduced or clearing bacterial background lawn was observed, indicating no or minimal cytotoxicity of the test article under the test conditions.

The assay was run in all five strains on triplicate plates. Positive and vehicle controls were run concurrently for all five strains, on six plates per strain. All plating was with and without exogenous metabolic activation. Heterogeneity of the test article in plates at 1000 and 5000 nl/plate, with and without S9, in all bacterial strains did not interfere the automatic colony counting. No reduced or clearing bacterial background lawn was observed, indicating no or minimal cytotoxicity of the test article under the test conditions. There is neither significant increase nor dose-dependent increase of the number of revertants in any bacterial strain treated with the test article in the presence or absence of S9. All positive and negative control values were within acceptable ranges, and all criteria for a valid study were met.

Any other information on results incl. tables

See "Attached background material" section below

Applicant's summary and conclusion

Conclusions:

Interpretation of results: negative

Farnesane is not mutagenic per the Ames assay as conducted with E. coli WP2 uvrA, and S. typhimurium strains TA-97a, TA-1535, TA-98, and TA-100

Executive summary:

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mutagenic potential of a test article based on the reversion of selective growth mutations in several strains of Salmonella typhimurium bacteria and in Escherichia coli WP2 uvrA bacteria, in the presence and absence of S9 activation. This protocol is based on OECD Guideline for Testing of Chemicals: No. 471 – Bacterial Reverse Mutation Test and U.S. EPA Health Effects Test Guidelines OPPTS 870.5100 – Bacterial Reverse Mutation Test.

 

Method Synopsis: Prior to the cytotoxic screen, solubility of the test article was checked in tissue culture water, Dimethyl sulfoxide, 95% Ethanol (EtOH) and Acetone. The test article was freely soluble at a concentration of 50 µL/mL in 95% EtOH and Acetone. The Sponsor, in consultation with the Study Director, chose 95% ethanol as the vehicle for the assay. A cytotoxicity screen was conducted in the TA-100 tester strain using eight concentrations (1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000nl/plate) of the test article, two plates per dose,on the bacterial tester strain Salmonella typhimurium TA-100. The test article was combined with the bacteria and top agar in the presence and absence of a metabolic activation mixture (S9) and overlain onto minimal glucose agar plates. A 95% EtOH vehicle control was run concurrently, with and without S9.

 

Based on the cytotoxicity results, five concentrations (50,100,500,1000 and 5000nl/plate) of the test article were tested in each of five bacterial tester strains (E. coli WP2uvrA, and S. typhimurium strains TA-97a, TA-1535, TA-98, and TA-100).  Vehicle controls and positive controls specific to each bacterial strain were treated in the same manner as the test article concentrations. The plates were incubated at 37ºC ± 2ºC for 48-72 hours. Revertant colony growth was determined by counting the colonies per plate using an AlphaImager™imaging system. The number of revertants of the test article treatment plates and positive control plates was divided by the number of revertants of the vehicle plates. In general, a positive result is determined by a 2-fold increase above the vehicle control.

  

Summary: Farnesane in the vehicle, Ethanol, was tested in a Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay. The test article did not show obvious cytotoxicity to bacterial strain TA100 at dose range 1 to 5000 nl/plate, with or without S9. The test article at 50 to 5000 nl/plate, with or without S9, did not cause significant increase or dose-dependent increase in the number of revertants of any bacterial tester strains. This indicates that the test article is negative for mutagenicity in the Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay. 

 

Conclusion: Under test conditions, test article farnesane does not have mutagenicity potential.