Radiopacifiers do not induce genetic damage in murine fibroblasts: an in vitro study

To evaluate whether several radiopacifiers are able to induce genetic damage in a laboratory cell culture study.

Murine fibroblasts were exposed to barium sulphate, bismuth oxide or zirconium oxide, at final concentrations ranging from 10 to 1000 microg mL(-1) for 1 h at 37 degrees C. The negative control group was treated with a vehicle control [phosphate buffered solution (PBS)] for 1 h at 37 degrees C and the positive control group was treated with hydrogen peroxide (at 10 microM) for 5 min on ice. Genotoxicity data were assessed by the single-cell gel (comet) assay.

All the tested compounds did not induce DNA breakage as depicted by the mean tail moment in all the concentrations analysed.

Exposure to the tested radiopacifiers may not be a factor that increases the level of DNA lesions in mammalian cells as detected by a single-cell gel (comet) assay.