Abstract

Approximately 70% of cancers are believed to be initiated by genotoxic agents. As enzymatic repair of damaged DNA is very body specific, body burden and fundamental studies of chemical carcinogenesis require the development of new bioanalytical techniques which can directly determine damage of intact DNA from carcinogenic matabolites. Assessment of damage at a level of ~1:10⁹ base pairs is required for ~10-100 μg of DNA. To be most useful the technique should possess the selectivity to distinguish between structurally very similar DNA-metabolite adducts. In both regards, laser-excited fluorescence line narrowing (FLN) has recently been shown to be promising.^1-3 Attention has focused on metabolites of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and the adducts they form with DNA. Data are presented which demonstrate that adducts from chrysene, 5-methyl-chrysene, benzo[a]pyrene, and ben[a]anthracene can be distinguished. The detection limits for FLN are discussed.

© 1986 Optical Society of America