MUTAGENICITY OF NITROBENZYL DERIVATIVES - POTENTIAL BIOREDUCTIVE ANTICANCER AGENTS

Ortho-, meta- and para-nitrobenzyl bromides, alcohols, ethers and este rs were synthesised and tested for their mutagenicity toward Salmonell a typhimurium TA100, TA100NR (nitroreductase deficient) and TA98 in ab sence of S9 mix and in TA100 with S9 mix. Compounds of the ortho- and meta-series were non mutagenic with and without S9 mix. Except for the alcohol and ether, the compounds of the pam-series were mutagenic in TA100 with activity sequence propionate > butyrate > benzoate > acetat e > bromide and this specific activity was reduced considerably by S9 mix. The Ames Salmonella test system does not seem to be an appropriat e model to evaluate mutagenicity of o-nitrobenzyls. However, further w ork is in progress to test all the compounds fbr mutagenicity in mamma lian system.