ABSTRACT
The ke and Ames tests have common roots in the somatic mutation theory of carcinogenesis, which states that the one physicochemical property shared by most carcinogens is electrophilicity and that electrophiles react with electron-rich biotargets such as DNA in the initiation step of carcino-genesis. The kc test has been found to complement the Ames test, and it is this physicochemical screening test that is discussed along with its electron-based endpoint. The rationale is consistent with the kc test complementing the Ames test, which is discussed in detail following consideration of a key assumption in the ke -carcinogenicity rationale, which involves the dependence of electron transport and reactions on the reaction media. The ke test can serve as a physicochemical bridge to unite the fields of risk assessment, genetic toxicology, and analytical chemistry, which would ultimately permit the biohazardous potential of chemicals to be monitored from their point of introduction into the global environment to their eventual site of disposal.
