Comparison of liquid-liquid extraction and resin adsorption for concentrating mutagens in Ames Salmonella/microsome assays on water.

The Ames Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay (AMES et al. 1975) is a relatively simple, cheap and rapid test for mutagenic activity (GREIM et al. 1980, SOBELS 1980). Although there are uncertainties about the health implications of mutagens, the Ames test detects 85 to 93% of known chemical carcinogens and is considered an essential part of the minimal battery of bioassays required in studies on environmental compounds which may damage chromosomal material (GREIM et al. 1980, SOBELS 1980). Since water may play an important role in the transmission of environmental carcinogens, which are responsible for an estimated 50 to 90% of human cancer cases, the Ames test is being used to determine the incidence of potential carcinogens in water supplies and their removal or formation by water treatment processes (HOOPER et al. 1978, NESTMANN et al. 1979, RAPPAPORT et al. 1979, SAXENA & SCHWARTZ 1979, SCHWARTZ et al. 1979, DENKHAUS et al. 1980, GRABOW et al. 1980, LOPER 1980). In many waters, particularly drinking-water supplies, the concentration of mutagens is generally too low for direct detection by the Ames test, and a wide variety of methods are being used to concentrate mutagens from large volumes of water (HOOPER et al. 1978, NESTMANN et al. 1979, RAPPAPORT et al. 1979, SCHWARTZ et al. 1979, GRABOW et al. 1980, LOPER 1980, GRIMM-KIBALO et al. 1981).