Mutagenicity of 2-hydroxyalkyl-N-nitrosothiazolidines

The mutagenicity of 2-hydroxyalkyl-N- nitrosothiazolidines was tested using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100. The N- nitrosothiazolidines tested were unsubstituted N- nitrosothiazolidine (NT), N- nitrosothiazolidine -4-carboxylic acid ( NTC ), 2-hydroxymethyl-N- nitrosothiazolidine ( HMNT ), 2-(1,2,3,4- tetrahydroxybutyl )-N- nitrosothiazolidine , 2-(1,2,3,4- tetrahydroxypentyl )-N- nitrosothiazolidine , 2-(1,2,3,4,5- pentahydroxypentyl )-N- nitrosothiazolidine ( PHPNT ) and 2-(1,2,3,4,5- pentahydroxypentyl )-N- nitrosothiazolidine -4-car boxylic acid. Among the N- nitrosothiazolidines tested, only HMNT and PHPNT exhibited clear dose-response mutagenicity toward strain TA100 with or without metabolic activation. None of the 2-hydroxyalkyl-N- nitrosothiazolidines were mutagenic to strain TA98. NT exhibited much stronger mutagenicity than either HMNT or PHPNT . Mutagenic activities of NT and PHPNT were eliminated by carboxyl substitution in the position alpha to the N-nitroso group.