Genotoxic and Developmental Evaluation of Phenol‐Functionalized Fatty Acid Derivatives for Safer Antimicrobial Coatings

This study investigates the genotoxicity and developmental toxicity of phenol-branched fatty acid (PhBC-FA) monomer and its derivatives, PhBC-FA methyl ester (PhBC-FAME) and PhBC-FA-amide (PhBC-FAAM), which have been used in the development of antimicrobial coatings. Given the potential risks of phenol (Ph) and the need for safer alternatives to traditional antimicrobial products, in silico toxicity tools, in vivo experiments for developmental toxicity, and DNA damage in chicken embryos were used. In the in silico simulation, among three test compounds, PhBC-FAME was identified as the most toxic developmental compound for aquatic organisms but with the least toxicity for rat development. This finding was further investigated in vivo using several endpoints in the chicken embryonic model, including mortality rate, malformation rate, liver somatic index (LSI), ratio of embryo to egg weight (REEW), and oxidative stress. The three compounds were injected into fertilized eggs at three different dosages: 33, 300, and 1333 μg/kg. Among these, PhBC-FAME showed a 33% mortality rate at the highest dosage (1333 μg/kg). PhBC-FAAM at the lowest dosage (33 μg/kg) showed statistically significant changes in the REEW index compared with control. In the Comet assay, PhBC-FAME at both 0.1 and 1 mM showed significant differences compared with the control, demonstrating concerning genotoxicity and making it an unsuitable monomer for safe coating applications. It can be concluded that PhBC-FA exhibits mild toxicity, whereas PhBC-FAAM exhibits an even lower toxicity profile, supporting their potential use in biopolymer-based antimicrobial coatings.