Objective To study the mouse liver damage induced by volatile organic compounds(VOCs) in automotive spray paint, and to provide a basis for understanding the safety level of such paints.
Methods Male Kunming mice of clean grade(n=78) were divided into 13 groups randomly, with 6 mice for each group. Four kinds of automotive spray paint at low, middle, and high doses(primer: 320, 600, and 1 110 mg/m3; topcoat: 300, 580, and 1080 mg/m3; varnish: 350, 680, and 1 280 mg/m3; black paint: 400, 580, and 1 350 mg/m3) were administered to the mice by static respiratory exposure for 2 h every day for 28 d; the control mice were placed in exposure cabinet with no spray paint for 2 h every day for 28 d. Animals were sacrificed on the final day to conduct blood biochemical exams and prepare pathological sections of liver.
Results The four kinds of VOCs paint all contained benzene and its homologues, alkenes, alkanes, and other organic components. According to the liver pathological observation, mice hepatocytes were damaged to varying degrees after exposed to the four kinds of paint at different concentrations, and the injury was more severe in the high dose groups. The levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) in each exposure group were higher than those of the control group but no obvious doseresponse relationships were observed. After the black paint exposure, ALT in the three dose groups as well as AST and ALP in themiddle and high dose groups were higher than those in the control group(P<0.05); no significant differences were found between the low dose group and the control group(P>0.05). After the topcoat exposure, ALT and ALP in the three dose groups were higher than those in the control group(P<0.05); ALT and AST in the high dose group were higher than those in the low and middle dose groups; ALP in the high dose group was higher than that in low dose group(P<0.05). After the varnish exposure, ALT, AST, and ALP in the three dose groups were higher than those in the control group(P<0.05), and ALP increased with higher exposure doses(P<0.05). After the primer exposure, ALT in the three dose groups were higher than that in control group; differences in AST and ALP were found between the high dose group and the control group(P<0.05). Comparing the four kinds of paint at the same dose, varnish presented greater damage to liver function indicators.
Conclusion The VOCs in automotive spray paint has significant toxicity to mouse liver in a dose-dependent manner.
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