Phototoxicity Testing of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in Mammalian Cellsin vitro

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Abstract
The cytotoxicity of various PAH was determined in V79 Chinese hamster fibroblasts in the absence and presence of a solar simulator, i.e. a light source emitting visible light, including UV-A and UV-B components. The range of cytotoxic concentrations of the different PAH in the absence of light varied by a factor of about 100. The cytotoxicity of some PAH was weakly, that of others was markedly increased in the presence of light, indicating a clear phototoxic effect. The range of the phototoxic concentrations in the presence of light was much wider (about 5000-fold) than in its absence. The greatest phototoxic potential was determined for larger, as opposed to smaller PAH. Methylation caused a decrease of the phototoxicity of PAH in comparison to their unmethylated parent compounds.