Genetic toxicology of acrylic acid

Acrylic acid was tested for gene mutations in the in vitro CHO/HGPRT assay, for chromosome aberrations in CHO cells in culture, and for potential to induce unscheduled DNA synthesis in rat hepatocytes in culture. In vivo assays performed included the Drosophila sex-linked recessive lethal assay by both the feeding and injection routes, the in vivo cytogenetic assay in rat bone marrow cells after both a 1-day and 5-day oral dosing regimen, and a dominant lethal assay in mice by both an acute and 5-day dosing regimen. All results were negative (non-mutagenic) except for the in vitro chromosome aberration assay. This latter result is consistent with the previously reported possible clastogenic activity suggested by the results of the mouse lymphoma L5178Y TK locus assay in which a predominance of small-colony mutants was observed (Moore et al., Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 1988, 11, 49-63). The rapid clearance of acrylic acid in animals and the weight of evidence of genetic toxicity testing, including negative in vivo data in both somatic and germ cells, indicate a lack of genetic toxicity of acrylic acid in vivo.