Abstract
It is widely recognized that tests using mammalian cell sytems are essential for assessing mutagenic hazard (Ishidate and Yoshikawa 1980). The micre nucleus test (Von Ledebur and Schmid 1973, Schmid 1973) is a convenient in vivo technique to overcome the shortcomings of in vitro bacterial methods. However, this assay requires high quality smears, for the production of which the solution used to avoid cell damage is critical.