The organo-metallic compound di-n-octyltin dichloride (DOTC) is used as an additive to plastics. Since it is, therefore, present in the human environment, its long-term toxicity, particularly its genotoxic potential, is of concern. In the present studies, the agent was shown to interact with the DNA of cultured V79 Chinese hamster cells. Though the compound did not induce mutagenesis in the Salmonella-microsome assay and DNA repair in primary rat hepatocytes, it did induce mutagenesis in V79 Chinese hamster cells hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT) assay. Further studies of the long-term toxicity of DOTC, particularly its carcinogenic potential, are necessary.
