Tetrabutylphosphonium chloride

Endpoint summary

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Genetic toxicity in vitro

Description of key information

Reliable Ames test performed according to OECD 471 guideline and in accordance with GLP principles with and without metabolic activation.

Link to relevant study records

Reference

Endpoint:

in vitro gene mutation study in bacteria

Type of information:

experimental study

Adequacy of study:

key study

Study period:

September 2015 - October 2015

Reliability:

1 (reliable without restriction)

Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:

guideline study

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

OECD Guideline 471 (Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay)

Version / remarks:

1997

Deviations:

no

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

EU Method B.13/14 (Mutagenicity - Reverse Mutation Test Using Bacteria)

Version / remarks:

2008

Deviations:

no

GLP compliance:

yes

Type of assay:

bacterial reverse mutation assay

Target gene:

- S. typhimurium: Histidine gene
- E. coli: Tryptophan gene

Species / strain / cell type:

S. typhimurium TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 98 and TA 100

Species / strain / cell type:

E. coli WP2 uvr A

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Metabolic activation system:

Rat liver S9-mix induced by Aroclor 1254

Test concentrations with justification for top dose:

Experiment 1: direct plate assay
Preliminary test (without and with S9) TA100 and WP2uvrA: 1.7, 5.4, 17, 52, 164, 512, 1600 and 5000 µg/plate
Main study: TA1535, TA1537 and TA98:
Without and with S9-mix: 52, 164, 512, 1600 and 5000 µg/plate

Experiment 2: pre-incubation assay
Without and with S9-mix: 52, 164, 512, 1600 and 5000 µg/plate

Vehicle / solvent:

- Vehicle used: Water
Test item is stable in water and completely miscible

Untreated negative controls:

no

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

sodium azide

Remarks:

without S9 5 µg/plate in saline for TA1535 (direct plate + pre-incubation)

Untreated negative controls:

no

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

other: ICR-191

Remarks:

without S9 2.5 µg/plate in DMSO for TA1537 (direct plate)

Untreated negative controls:

no

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

other: 2-nitrofluorene

Remarks:

without S9 10 µg/plate in DMSO for TA98 (direct plate + pre-incubation) and 15 µg/plate in DMSO for TA1537 (pre-incubation)

Untreated negative controls:

no

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

methylmethanesulfonate

Remarks:

without S9 650 µg/plate in DMSO for TA100 (direct plate + pre-incubation)

Untreated negative controls:

no

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide

Remarks:

without S9 10 µg/plate in DMSO for WP2uvrA (direct plate + pre-incubation)

Untreated negative controls:

no

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

other: 2-aminoanthracene in DMSO for all tester strains

Remarks:

with S9 2.5 µg/plate for TA1535,TA1537 (direct plate + pre-incubation); 1 µg/plate for TA98,TA100 (direct plate); 5 µg/plate for TA100 (pre-incubation); 15 µg/plate for WP2uvrA (direct plate + pre-incubation)

Details on test system and experimental conditions:

METHOD OF APPLICATION: in agar (plate incorporation)

Experiment 2 included a pre-incubation step
Fresh bacterial culture (0.1 mL 10E9 cells/mL) of one of the tester strains and a dilution of the test item in Milli-Q water (0.1 mL) were pre-incubated for 30 minutes by 70 rpm at 37°C, either with 0.5 ml S9-mix (in case of activation assays) or 0.5 ml 0.1 M phosphate buffer (in case of non-activation assays).

DURATION
- Exposure duration: 48 hour

NUMBER OF REPLICATIONS:
- Doses of the test substance were tested in triplicate in each strain. Two independent experiments were conducted.

NUMBER OF CELLS EVALUATED: 10E8 per plate

DETERMINATION OF CYTOTOXICITY
- Method: The reduction of the bacterial background lawn, the increase in the size of the microcolonies and the reduction of the revertant colonies.

OTHER EXAMINATIONS:
- The presence of precipitation of the test compound on the plates was determined.

Rationale for test conditions:

To obtain more information about the possible mutagenicity of the test substance, a pre-incubation experiment was performed in the absence and presence of S9-mix.

Evaluation criteria:

Acceptability of the assay
A Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay and/or Escherichia coli reverse mutation assay is considered acceptable if it meets the following criteria:
a) The vehicle control and positive control plates from each tester strain (with or without S9-mix) must exhibit a characteristic number of revertant colonies when compared against relevant historical control data generated at WIL Research Europe.
b) The selected dose range should include a clearly toxic concentration or should exhibit limited solubility as demonstrated by the preliminary toxicity range-finding test or should extend to 5 mg/plate.
c) No more than 5% of the plates are lost through contamination or some other unforeseen event. If the results are considered invalid due to contamination, the experiment will be repeated.

A test item is considered negative (not mutagenic) in the test if:
a) The total number of revertants in tester strain TA100 or WP2uvrA is not greater than two (2) times the concurrent control, and the total number of revertants in tester strains TA1535, TA1537 or TA98 is not greater than three (3) times the concurrent control.
b) The negative response should be reproducible in at least one follow up experiment.

A test item is considered positive (mutagenic) in the test if:
a) The total number of revertants in tester strain TA100 or WP2uvrA is greater than two (2) times the concurrent control, or the total number of revertants in tester strains TA1535, TA1537 or TA98 is greater than three (3) times the concurrent control.
b) In case a repeat experiment is performed when a positive response is observed in one of the tester strains, the positive response should be reproducible in at least one follow up experiment.

Statistics:

No formal hypothesis testing was done.

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 98 and TA 100

Metabolic activation:

with

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity nor precipitates, but tested up to recommended limit concentrations

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Species / strain:

E. coli WP2 uvr A

Metabolic activation:

with

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity nor precipitates, but tested up to recommended limit concentrations

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 1535

Metabolic activation:

without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

cytotoxicity

Remarks:

at 1600 µg/plate and above after pre-incubation

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 1537

Metabolic activation:

without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

cytotoxicity

Remarks:

at 1600 µg/plate and above after pre-incubation

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 98

Metabolic activation:

without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

cytotoxicity

Remarks:

at 1600 µg/plate and above after pre-incubation

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 100

Metabolic activation:

without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

cytotoxicity

Remarks:

at 1600 µg/plate and above after pre-incubation

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Species / strain:

E. coli WP2 uvr A

Metabolic activation:

without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

cytotoxicity

Remarks:

at 1600 µg/plate and above after pre-incubation

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Additional information on results:

TEST-SPECIFIC CONFOUNDING FACTORS
- No precipitation was observed up to and including the top dose of 5000 µg/plate

RANGE-FINDING/SCREENING STUDIES:
In strain TA100, fluctuations in the number of revertant colonies below the laboratory historical control data range were observed. However, since no dose-relationship was observed, the reductions are not considered to be caused by toxicity of the test substance. In all other strains, no biologically significant decrease in the number of revertants was observed.

COMPARISON WITH HISTORICAL CONTROL DATA:
- The negative and strain-specific positive control values were within our laboratory historical control data ranges indicating that the test conditions were adequate and that the metabolic activation system functioned properly.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CYTOTOXICITY:
- No toxicity or mutagenicity was observed up to and including the top dose of 5000 µg/plate in the direct plate assay
- pre-incubation assay
TA1535: without S9: 1600 µg/plate and above and with S9: no toxicity
TA1537: without S9: 1600 µg/plate and above and with S9: no toxicity
TA98: without S9: 1600 µg/plate and above and with S9: no toxicity
TA100: without S9: 1600 µg/plate and above and with S9: 5000 μg/plate
WP2uvrA: without S9: 1600 µg/plate and above and with S9: no toxicity

Conclusions:

In an AMES test, performed according to OECD guideline and GLP principles, Tetrabutylphosphonium Bromide was found not to be mutagenic with or without metabolic activation.

Executive summary:

An AMES test was performed according to the OECD guideline 471 and GLP principles. All bacterial strains showed negative responses up to and including 5000 ug/plate, i.e. no significant dose-related increase in the number of revertants with or without metabolic activation was seen. No cytotoxicity and/or precipitation of the test substance was observed in the direct-plate experiment. In the pre-incubation assay, toxicity was observed in all tester strains in the absence of S9-mix and in tester strain TA100 in the presence of S9-mix at the two highest concentrations tested. The negative and strain-specific positive control values were within the laboratory historical control data ranges indicating that the test conditions were adequate and that the metabolic activation system functioned properly.

Based on the results of this study it is concluded that Tetrabutylphosphonium Bromide; CYPHOS® 442 Phosphonium Salt is not mutagenic in the Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay and in the Escherichia coli reverse mutation assay with or without metabolic activation.

Endpoint conclusion

Endpoint conclusion:

no adverse effect observed (negative)

Additional information

An AMES test was performed according to the OECD guideline 471 and GLP principles. All bacterial strains showed negative responses up to and including 5000 ug/plate, i.e. no significant dose-related increase in the number of revertants with or without metabolic activation was seen. No cytotoxicity and/or precipitation of the test substance was observed in the direct-plate experiment. In the pre-incubation assay, toxicity was observed in all tester strains in the absence of S9-mix and in tester strain TA100 in the presence of S9-mix at the two highest concentrations tested. The negative and strain-specific positive control values were within the laboratory historical control data ranges indicating that the test conditions were adequate and that the metabolic activation system functioned properly.

Based on the results of this study it is concluded that the analogue substance is not mutagenic in the Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay and in the Escherichia coli reverse mutation assay with or without metabolic activation.

Justification for classification or non-classification

Based on the available data, Tetrabutylphosphonium Chloride is not classified for genotoxicity according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) of the United Nations (2011) (including all amendments) and CLP Regulation EC (No.) 1272/2008.