Abstract

QUIJANO PARRA, Alfonso; QUIJANO VARGAS, Mónica Juliana  and  MELENDEZ GELVEZ, Iván. Genotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons extracted by dichloromethane-ethanol-toluene system air samples from Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia . Acta toxicol. argent. [online]. 2017, vol.25, n.1, pp.01-11. ISSN 1851-3743.

Air pollutants have been and still are the main factors that contribute to chronic diseases such as asthma and cardio­vascular disease. Air pollution by particulate matter (PM) is a global problem and in recent years, the PM has become an important research topic since it has a significant negative impact on human health; the PM is generated by industrial activities and exhaust pipes of motor vehicles. However, various harmful components of PM such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in gen­eral, are suspected of being carcinogenic. This work aims to identify the PAHs present in the PM _2.5 air Cúcuta, first extracted by the dichloromethane-ethanol-toluene system and investigate the importance of organic matter fractionation of PM _2.5 to detect PAHs present in the fractions of PM _2.5. The identification of PAHs considered as priority pollutants and recognized for their effects on health of the population was performed by gas chromatography with FID detector. The genotoxic effects of PM_2.5 organic mat­ter, extracted with a mixture of DCM-ethanol-toluene, was evaluated by the Comet assay.

Keywords : Comet assay; Fractionation of PM_2.5; Benzo[a]anthracene; Benzo[b,k]fluoranthenes.