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Monitoring genotoxicity during the photocatalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol with VitoTOX on Agilent
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| M. Shani Sekler 1, Y. Levi 1, B. Polyak 1, A. Novoa 1, P. S. M. Dunlop 2, J. A. Byrne 2, R. S. Marks 1 3 * |
| 1Institute for Applied Biosciences, Ben-Gurion University, PO Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel 2NIBEC, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland BT37 0QB, UK 3Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University, PO Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel |
| email: R. S. Marks (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) |
*Correspondence to R. S. Marks, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Ben-Gurion University, PO Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.
Funded by:
EC; Grant Number: EVKI-CT-2000-00069
| photocatalysis • genotoxicity • p-nitrophenol • bioassay |
| p-Nitrophenol is a common structural unit of many pesticides and was chosen as a model compound to monitor genotoxicity during photocatalytic degradation. The genotoxicity of p-nitrophenol (PNP) and its breakdown products was measured using a bioluminescent bacterial bioassay, VitotoxTM. The genotoxic potential decreased with the concomitant photocatalytic degradation of the parent PNP concentration. The rate of genotoxicity reduction was slower than the rate of removal of the parent PNP, due to the formation of genotoxic by-products. After 6 h of photocatalytic treatment the total genotoxicity was removed. These results indicate that bioassays can be used as a simple and highly sensitive method for monitoring the general toxicity of chemical pollutants before, during and after photocatalytic treatment or other destructive processes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |