Variations in Cytotoxicity During Ozonation of Substituted Aromatics

The cytotoxicity test, using BGM cells and a colorimetric protein assay (Lowry, 1951) was a more sensitive modification of those described by Christian (1973) and Elias, et al. (1978). The cytotoxicity varied during ozonation, reaching a maximum after 50%90% degradation of the initial compound; aniline solution, 6.5x10³ M, showed a maximum cytotoxicity at 90% degradation after 60 min of ozonation, which decreased to 0% after 180 min 0₃. Ozonated nitro– and chloro–cresol solutions showed similar patterns. The variations in cytotoxicity seem to be related to the formation of intermediate oxidation products. The preliminary results suggest that this type of test, being both simple and fast, would be useful in toxicological screening of wastewater.