Detection of Ultra Weak Chemiluminescence from Benzo(a)pyrene and 3-Methylcholanthrene

抄録

To study ultra weak chemiluminescence (CL) from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, we examined the CL emission of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) and 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) in postmitochondrial supernatant supplemented with NADPH. The integrated CL emission resulting from the metabolism of the BP and MC displayed saturation kinetics. In each case, the rate of CL emission correlated with the rate of metabolism; and by addition of trichloropropane oxide the CL intensity from BP and MC was decreased. This result suggests that epoxide hydrase is necessary for the CL emission. The CL from both compounds was similar in terms of emission spectrum, indicating that these compounds are metabolized by microsomal enzymes to form exciplex species such as diol-dioxetane and diol-epoxide. Such species could cause both mutagenicity and CL emission.