METHYLMETHACRYLATE IS A MUTAGEN FOR SALMONELLA-TYPHIMURIUM

The long-term effects of exposure to monomeric methylmethacrylate have yet to be established. We have measured the toxicity and mutagenicity of methylmethacrylate for Salmonella typhimurium. At levels of thirty-four millimolar, methylmethacrylate exhibited 28 per cent of the mutagenic activity of an equimolar dose of dimethylnitrosamine. Methylmethacrylate alone exhibited toxicity to the bacteria, but when the methylacrylate was incubated with a rat-liver enzyme metabolizing system, mutagenesis was induced. These findings suggest that an intermediate metabolite of methylmethacrylate is mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium.