Effects of a combined treatment with X-rays and phenols on preimplantation mouse embryos in vitro.

Phenols are found everywhere in the environment. Therefore, the investigation of possible interaction between phenols and radiation is of some interest. The effects of a combination of X-rays and phenols (phenol itself and p-nitrophenol) were measured by the preimplantation mouse embryo-system in vitro. The microscopic visible development up to 144 h post conceptionem (h.p.c.), the number of cell nuclei, the DNA-content of each nucleus, the mitotic index, the labelling index, and the number of micronuclei were determined. There was not any indication that the effect of the irradiation was enhanced in a synergistic manner by the presence of phenols. All parameters measured lead to the conclusion that the effects of phenols plus X-rays are, at most, additive.