Testiranje genotoksičnosti gradnikov epoksi smole za izdelavo naprednih materialov

Blagajac, Maj (author), Kononenko, Veno (mentor)

Epoksi smole predstavljajo pomembno skupino polimernih materialov, ki se pogosto uporabljajo kot matrica v naprednih kompozitih, vendar pa njihovi posamezni kemijski gradniki lahko izkazujejo škodljive učinke za zdravje ljudi (Guo in sod., 2012; Mi in sod., 2022; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). Namen magistrskega dela je bil ovrednotiti citotoksičnost in genotoksičnost osmih različnih komponent epoksi smol, ki so bile prejete iz EU projekta Repoxyble. Testni materiali so vključevali epoksi smole, utrjevalce in razcepne enote. Uporabljena je bila človeška celična linija A549, pri kateri smo za oceno citotoksičnosti izvedli resazurinski test, test privzema barvila nevtralno rdeče, test z barvilom Coomassie brilliant blue G250, za zaznavo poškodb DNA pa alkalni kometni test. Rezultati so pokazali, da so izbrani utrjevalci epoksi smol (Rx-1, Rx-9) in epoksi smole (Rx-2, Rx-7, Rx-17, Rx-19) povzročili statistično značilno citotoksičnost. Statistično značilen genotoksični učinek je od treh testiranih materialov (epoksi smola Rx-2, utrjevalec Rx-9, razcepna enota Rx-24) imela le epoksi smola Rx-2. Na podlagi rezultatov sklepamo, da je epoksi smola Rx-2 genotoksična, kar poudarja pomen sistematičnega toksikološkega vrednotenja že v fazi razvoja epoksi materialov. Delo prispeva k razumevanju tveganj, povezanih z uporabo epoksi materialov, in nudi znanstveno podlago za nadaljnji razvoj varnejših formulacij.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: toksikologija, A549, citotoksičnost, genotoksičnost, kometni test, epoksi smole
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publisher: [M. Blagajac]
• Year: 2025
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173218
• ISBN: 248874755
• UDC: 678.686:615.9(043.2)
• COBISS.SI-ID: 248874755
• Publication date in RUL: 14.09.2025

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Genotoxicity testing of epoxy resin building blocks for the production of advanced materials

Abstract

Epoxy resins represent an important group of polymeric materials that are commonly used as matrices in advanced composites. However, their individual chemical components may exhibit harmful effects on human health (Guo et al., 2012; Mi et al., 2022; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). The aim of this master’s thesis was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of eight different epoxy resin components obtained from the EU project Repoxyble. The tested materials included epoxy resins, hardeners, and cleaving units. The human A549 cell line was used, and cytotoxicity was assessed using the resazurin assay, the neutral red uptake assay, and the Coomassie blue assay, while DNA damage was evaluated using the alkaline comet assay. The results showed that selected epoxy resin hardeners (Rx-1, Rx-9) and epoxy resins (Rx-2, Rx-7, Rx-17, Rx-19) induced statistically significant cytotoxicity. Among the three tested materials (epoxy resin Rx-2, hardener Rx-9, cleaving agent Rx-24), only epoxy resin Rx-2 exhibited a statistically significant genotoxic effect. Based on the results, we conclude that epoxy resin Rx-2 is genotoxic, highlighting the importance of systematic toxicological evaluation already during the development phase of epoxy materials. This work contributes to the understanding of the risks associated with the use of epoxy materials and provides a scientific basis for the further development of safer formulations.

• Keywords: toxicology, A549, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, comet assay, epoxy resins