SURF - Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Projects

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  Evaluating Human Cell Survival and DNA Damage After Exposure to Various Amounts of Chlorine Dioxide and Exploring Its Use as a Potential Cancer Chemotherapy Agent

  Niuska Mariana Alvarez Fuenmayor

  Chlorine Dioxide (ClO₂) is a synthetic, green-yellowish gas with a chlorine-like, irritating odor that is used for the treatment of drinking water and food preservation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic potential of the chlorine dioxide in mammalian cells and to determine what dose of ClO₂ is tolerable by normal cells and cells with aberrant DNA repair genes. Human and mouse embryonic cells were treated with various ClO₂ dilutions ranging from 2.5 mM to 25 mM. The cell viability and metabolic activity was determined via MTT, a colorimetric assay. Human HEK293 cells exposed to 5mM of chlorine dioxide exhibit rapid cell death. Results from the alkaline comet assay indicate cells treated with a 50 mM ClO₂ carry high levels of DNA breaks. Furthermore, mouse embryonic fibroblast cells lacking a key DNA repair gene, DNA polymerase beta, show an increased level of sensitivity to ClO₂ indicating its use as a potential chemotherapy approach for cancer cells harboring defective DNA repair genes.