Toxicogenetic and ecotoxicological assessment of textile dyes

Abstract

The fabrics dyeing began thousands of years ago and the commercial availability of dyes is increasingly. The Brazilian textile industry plays a role of high importance, highlighting among the main economic activities in the country. The dyeing process is one of the key factors in the commercial success of textile products, since consumers are demanding colors more resistant to exposure to heat, light, perspiration and washing. According to the literature, conditions of intense perspiration contribute to the migration and subsequent penetration of textile dyes to human skin. This fact is relevant, since human exposure to this type of compound is extremely high. Furthermore, 10 to 50% of the initial dye load is present in the dye bath effluent and these compounds are discharged in industrial effluents, contaminating the environment, together with other substances added during the dyeing process.The dye molecular structure is divided in two parts: the cromophore group, responsible for the color and the part responsible for the fixation to the fiber. In this context, this project purposes to assess the toxicogenetic effects generated by different concentrations of the solutions of the Direct Black 38 dye obtained after the extraction of cotton fiber dyed in the laboratory using artificial sweat as extractor. Therefore, in the present work we will use Salmonella mutagenicity assay and Comet test and induction of cell death with fibroblasts and keratinocytes from human skin. Moreover, due to a stage at Parc Cientific Barcelona perfomed from September to December 2011, we have evaluated the ecotoxicity of the dyes Direct Black 38 and Reactive Blue 15, by tests with seeds, dapnhias, earthworms and zebrafish.