Photo-oxides of Carcinogenic Hydrocarbons

Abstract

SUGGESTIONS have sometimes been made that the biological action of carcinogenic hydrocarbons is preceded by conversion, probably by oxidation, into water-soluble derivatives which may more readily be conceived as able to exert a direct action on the cells which eventually become malignant than the water-insoluble parent hydrocarbons. The photo-sensitivity of solutions of some of the more potent carcinogenic hydrocarbons (namely, 3: 4-benzpyrene and 20-methylcholanthrene) is apparent to those accustomed to work with them; moreover, Boyland¹ found that alkaline extracts of photo-oxidized carcinogenic hydrocarbons arrest the activity of certain enzymes, and Maisin and de Jonghe² observed that light accelerates the production of skin tumours in mice by 3: 4-benzpyrene. Most of the known carcinogenic hydrocarbons are anthraoene derivatives and are therefore related to the group of compounds which have been shown by Dufraisse and his collaborators³ to undergo facile photo-oxidation to oxides which are peroxidic in character.