Prediction of the carcinogenic activity of two large PAH produced from the supercritical pyrolysis of Synthetic Jet Fuel S-8

In previous work, using high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array ultraviolet-visible (UV) absorbance and mass spectrometric detection, we have reported the identifications of dibenzo[b,ghi]perylene and benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene from the supercritical pyrolysis of synthetic jet fuel S-8. In the present study, we describe a method that indicates that dibenzo[b,ghi]perylene and benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene are carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). To prove this assertion, we have studied the UV spectra of several pairs of PAH that differ in two carbons. In all cases, we have observed an increase of the p band location related to the increase of the carcinogenic activity of the heavier PAH. The natural extension of this work to the PAH pairs naphtho[2,3-e]pyrene/ dibenzo[b,ghi]perylene and benzo[a]pentaphene/ benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene has led us to conclude that dibenzo[b,ghi]perylene and benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene are also carcinogenic. The prediction of the carcinogenicity of other PAH based on similar principles is the subject of ongoing research.