Disodium 5,5'-[(1-methylethylidene)bis(4,1-phenyleneoxysulphonyl-2,1-phenyleneazo)]bis[6-aminonaphthalene-1-sulphonate]

Endpoint summary

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Genetic toxicity in vitro

Description of key information

The purpose of the study was to evaluate Acid Orange 94 Refined for the ability to induce reverse mutations, either directly or after metabolic activation, at the histidine or tryptophan locus in the genome of five strains of bacteria.In this Reverse Mutation Assay ‘Ames Test’ using strains of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli (OECD TG 471) the test item Acid Orange 94 Refined did not induce an increase in the frequency of revertant colonies at any of the dose levels used either with or without metabolic activation (S9-mix). Under the conditions of this test Acid Orange 94 Refined was considered to be non-mutagenic.

Link to relevant study records

Reference

Endpoint:

in vitro gene mutation study in bacteria

Type of information:

experimental study

Adequacy of study:

key study

Study period:

04 October 2018 to 21 January 2019

Reliability:

1 (reliable without restriction)

Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:

guideline study

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

OECD Guideline 471 (Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay)

Deviations:

no

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

EU Method B.13/14 (Mutagenicity - Reverse Mutation Test Using Bacteria)

Deviations:

no

GLP compliance:

yes (incl. QA statement)

Type of assay:

bacterial reverse mutation assay

Specific details on test material used for the study:

Test item: Acid Orange 94 Refined
Alternative name: Disodium 5, 5’-[(1-methylethylidene)bis(4,1-phenyleneoxysulphonyl-2,1-phenyleneazo)]bis[6-aminonaphthalene-1-sulphonate]
CAS number: 70161-18-1
EC number: 274-354-1
Intended use: Industrial chemical
Appearance: Reddish brown crystals
Storage conditions: Room temperature (10 – 30C), in the dark
Lot number: 8009
Expiry/Retest date: 31 December 2019
Purity: 97%

Target gene:

Histidine or tryptophan locus in the genome of five strains of bacteria

Species / strain / cell type:

S. typhimurium TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 98 and TA 100

Species / strain / cell type:

E. coli WP2 uvr A

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Metabolic activation system:

Rat liver homogenate metabolizing system (10% liver S9 in standard co-factors).

Test concentrations with justification for top dose:

The dose range for Experiment 1 (plate incorporation) was based on OECD TG 471 and was 1.5 to 5000 μg/plate.
The dose range was amended following the results of Experiment 1 and was 15 to 5000 μg/plate. Six test item concentrations per bacterial strain were selected in Experiment 2 in order to achieve both four non-toxic dose levels and the potential toxicity of the test item following the change in test methodology.

Vehicle / solvent:

Dimethyl sulphoxide

Untreated negative controls:

yes

Negative solvent / vehicle controls:

yes

Positive controls:

yes

Positive control substance:

4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide

9-aminoacridine

N-ethyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine

benzo(a)pyrene

other: 2-Aminoanthracene

Details on test system and experimental conditions:

Test System and Supporting Information

3.2.1 Bacteria
The five strains of bacteria used, and their mutations, are as follows:
Salmonella typhimurium
Strains Genotype Type of mutations indicated
TA1537 his C 3076; rfa-; uvrB-: frame shift mutations
TA98 his D 3052; rfa-; uvrB-;R-factor
TA1535 his G 46; rfa-; uvrB-: base-pair substitutions
TA100 his G 46; rfa-; uvrB-;R-factor

Escherichia coli
Strain Genotype Type of mutations indicated
WP2uvrA trp-; uvrA-: base-pair substitution

All of the Salmonella strains are histidine dependent by virtue of a mutation through the histidine operon and are derived from S. typhimurium strain LT2 through mutations in the histidine locus. Additionally due to the "deep rough" (rfa-) mutation they possess a faulty lipopolysaccharide coat to the bacterial cell surface thus increasing the cell permeability to larger molecules. A further mutation, through the deletion of the uvrB- bio gene, causes an inactivation of the excision repair system and a dependence on exogenous biotin. In the strains TA98 and TA100, the R-factor plasmid pKM101 enhances chemical and UV-induced mutagenesis via an increase in the error-prone repair pathway. The plasmid also confers ampicillin resistance which acts as a convenient marker (Mortelmans and Zeiger, 2000). In addition to a mutation in the tryptophan operon, the E. coli tester strain contains a uvrA- DNA repair deficiency which enhances its sensitivity to some mutagenic compounds. This deficiency allows the strain to show enhanced mutability as the uvrA repair system would normally act to remove and repair the damaged section of the DNA molecule (Green and Muriel, 1976 and Mortelmans and Riccio, 2000).
The bacteria used in the test were obtained from:
• British Industrial Biological Research Association, on a nutrient agar plate, on 17 August 1987
• Trinova Biochem GmbH on 27 June 2017
All of the strains were stored at approximately -196 °C in a Statebourne liquid nitrogen freezer, model SXR 34.
In this assay, overnight sub-cultures of the appropriate coded stock cultures were prepared in nutrient broth (Oxoid Limited; lot number 2216012 11/2022) and incubated at 37 ± 3 °C for approximately 10 hours. Each culture was monitored spectrophotometrically for turbidity with titres determined by viable count analysis on nutrient agar plates.

Experimental Design and Study Conduct

3.3.1 Test Item Preparation and Analysis
The test item was insoluble in sterile distilled water at 50 mg/mL but was fully soluble in dimethyl sulphoxide at the same concentration in solubility checks performed in-house. Dimethyl sulphoxide was therefore selected as the vehicle.
The test item was accurately weighed and, on the day of each experiment, approximate half-log dilutions prepared in pre-dried dimethyl sulphoxide by mixing on a vortex mixer and sonication for 10 minutes at room temperature. Formulated concentrations were adjusted to allow for the stated water/impurity content (3%) of the test item.
All formulations were used within four hours of preparation and were assumed to be stable for this period. Analysis for concentration, homogeneity and stability of the test item formulations is not a requirement of the test guidelines and was, therefore, not determined. This is an exception with regard to GLP and has been reflected in the GLP compliance statement.

3.3.2 Test for Mutagenicity: Experiment 1 – Plate Incorporation Method

3.3.2.1 Dose selection
The test item was tested using the following method. The maximum concentration was 5000 μg/plate (the OECD TG 471 maximum recommended dose level). Eight concentrations of the test item (1.5, 5, 15, 50, 150, 500, 1500 and 5000 μg/plate) were assayed in triplicate against each tester strain, using the direct plate incorporation method.

3.3.2.2 Without Metabolic Activation
A 0.1 mL aliquot of the appropriate concentration of test item, solvent vehicle or 0.1 mL of the appropriate positive control was added together with 0.1 mL of the bacterial strain culture, 0.5 mL of phosphate buffer and 2 mL of molten, trace amino-acid supplemented media. These were then mixed and overlayed onto a Vogel-Bonner agar plate. Negative (untreated) controls were also performed on the same day as the mutation test. Each concentration of the test item, appropriate positive, vehicle and negative controls, and each bacterial strain, was assayed using triplicate plates.

3.3.2.3 With Metabolic Activation
The procedure was the same as described previously (see 3.3.2.2) except that following the addition of the test item formulation and bacterial culture, 0.5 mL of S9-mix was added to the molten, trace amino-acid supplemented media instead of phosphate buffer.

3.3.2.4 Incubation and Scoring
All of the plates were incubated at 37 ± 3 °C for between 48 and 72 hours and scored for the presence of revertant colonies using an automated colony counting system. The plates were viewed microscopically for evidence of thinning (toxicity). Sporadic manual counts were performed due to spreading colonies which prevented an accurate automated count.

3.3.3 Test for Mutagenicity: Experiment 2 – Pre-Incubation Method
As the result of Experiment 1 was considered negative, Experiment 2 was performed using the pre-incubation method in the presence and absence of metabolic activation (S9-mix).

3.3.3.1 Dose selection
The dose range used for Experiment 2 was determined by the results of Experiment 1 and was 15, 50, 150, 500, 1500 and 5000 μg/plate.
Six test item concentrations per bacterial strain were selected in Experiment 2 in order to achieve both four non-toxic dose levels and the potential toxicity of the test item following the change in test methodology from plate incorporation to pre-incubation.

3.3.3.2 Without Metabolic Activation
A 0.1 mL aliquot of the appropriate bacterial strain culture, 0.5 mL of phosphate buffer and 0.1 mL of the appropriate concentration of test item formulation, solvent vehicle or 0.1 mL of appropriate positive control were incubated at 37 ± 3 °C for 20 minutes (with shaking) prior to addition of 2 mL of molten, trace amino-acid supplemented media and subsequent plating onto Vogel-Bonner plates. Negative (untreated) controls were also performed on the same day as the mutation test employing the plate incorporation method. All testing for this experiment was performed in triplicate.

3.3.3.3 With Metabolic Activation
The procedure was the same as described previously (see 3.3.3.2) except that following the addition of the test item formulation and bacterial strain culture, 0.5 mL of S9-mix was added to the tube instead of phosphate buffer, prior to incubation at 37 ± 3 °C for 20 minutes (with shaking) and addition of molten, trace amino-acid supplemented media. All testing for this experiment was performed in triplicate.

3.3.3.4 Incubation and Scoring
All of the plates were incubated at 37 ± 3 °C for between 48 and 72 hours and scored for the presence of revertant colonies using an automated colony counting system. The plates were viewed microscopically for evidence of thinning (toxicity).

Rationale for test conditions:

The dose range used for Experiment 2 was determined by the results of Experiment 1 and was 15, 50, 150, 500, 1500 and 5000 μg/plate.

Evaluation criteria:

There are several criteria for determining a positive result. Any, one, or all of the following can be used to determine the overall result of the study:
• A dose-related increase in mutant frequency over the dose range tested (De Serres and Shelby, 1979).
• A reproducible increase at one or more concentrations.
• Biological relevance against in-house historical control ranges.
• A fold increase greater than two times the concurrent solvent control for TA100, TA98 and WP2uvrA or a three-fold increase for TA1535 and TA1537 (especially if accompanied by an out-of-historical range response (Cariello and Piegorsch, 1996)).
• Statistical analysis of data as determined by UKEMS (Mahon et al., 1989)
A test item will be considered non-mutagenic (negative) in the test system if the above criteria are not met.
Although most experiments will give clear positive or negative results, in some instances the data generated will prohibit making a definite judgment about test item activity. Results of this type will be reported as equivocal.

Statistics:

Statistical significance was confirmed by using Dunnetts Regression Analysis (* = p < 0.05) for those values that indicate statistically significant increases in the frequency of revertant colonies compared to the concurrent solvent control.

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 1535

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 1537

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 98

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Key result

Species / strain:

S. typhimurium TA 100

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Key result

Species / strain:

E. coli WP2 uvr A

Metabolic activation:

with and without

Genotoxicity:

negative

Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:

no cytotoxicity

Vehicle controls validity:

valid

Untreated negative controls validity:

valid

Positive controls validity:

valid

Conclusions:

In this Reverse Mutation Assay ‘Ames Test’ using strains of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli (OECD TG 471) the test item Acid Orange 94 Refined did not induce an increase in the frequency of revertant colonies at any of the dose levels used either with or without metabolic activation (S9-mix). Under the conditions of this test Acid Orange 94 Refined was considered to be non-mutagenic.

Executive summary:

The purpose of the study was to evaluate Acid Orange 94 Refined for the ability to induce reverse mutations, either directly or after metabolic activation, at the histidine or tryptophan locus in the genome of five strains of bacteria.In this Reverse Mutation Assay ‘Ames Test’ using strains of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli (OECD TG 471) the test item Acid Orange 94 Refined did not induce an increase in the frequency of revertant colonies at any of the dose levels used either with or without metabolic activation (S9-mix). Under the conditions of this test Acid Orange 94 Refined was considered to be non-mutagenic.

Endpoint conclusion

Endpoint conclusion:

no adverse effect observed (negative)

Justification for classification or non-classification

In this Reverse Mutation Assay ‘Ames Test’ using strains of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli (OECD TG 471) the test item Acid Orange 94 Refined did not induce an increase in the frequency of revertant colonies at any of the dose levels used either with or without metabolic activation (S9-mix). Under the conditions of this test Acid Orange 94 Refined was considered to be non-mutagenic.