Metabolic activation and mutagenicity of 4 vinylic monomers (vinyl chloride, styrene, acrylonitrile, butadiene).

The mutagenic activity and the metabolism of four vinylic monomers; vinyl chloride, styrene, acrylonitrile and butadiene are reviewed. Those chemicals are converted by the mixed function oxidases system of the endoplasmic reticulum into reactive intermediates which can interact with macromolecules within the cell. In order to examine the mutagenic activity of these compounds and their metabolites, different mutagenicity testing systems have been used: tests with S. typhimurium, E. coli, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, V79 Chinese Hamster cells, CHO cells, Drosophila melanogaster as well as evaluations of chromosome aberrations.