Several mineral fibers were shown to adsorb differentially to three classes of biologically significant macromolecules (i.e., DNA, RNA, and protein). The cytotoxicity exerted by the particulates on a normal human fibroblast cell line, with the exception of attapulgite, correlated positively with the degree of macromolecular adsorption exhibited by these substances, namely: short chrysotile > attapulgite = intermediate chrysotile > amosite > glass fiber. Correspondingly, the ability to interfere with the enzymatic hydrolysis of deoxyribonucleic acid by bovine pancreatic deoxyribonuclease I followed a similar pattern, i.e., chrysotile > amosite = glass fiber. The results suggest that adsorption by mineral fibers may induce changes in enzyme-substrate interactions and therefore could interfere with normal biological processes.
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