In vivo unwinding fluorimetric assay as evidence of the damage induced by fenarimol and DNOC in rat liver DNA.

Five pesticides [amitraz, cyanazine, cyhexatin, dinitro-o-cresol (DNOC), and fenarimol] were tested as pure active ingredients for in vivo induction of DNA strand breaks on rat hepatocytes after intraperitoneal (ip) treatment. Two pesticides, fenarimol and DNOC, were capable of inducing DNA damage because they significantly increased the DNA unwinding rate. On the contrary, amitraz, cyanazine, and cyhexatin were not DNA-damaging agents.