Relative concentrations of polyaromatic primary amines and azaarenes in mutagenically active nitrogen fractions from a coal liquid

• Published in: Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology Vol. 90; no. 4; pp. 321 - 335
• Main Authors: Pelroy, Richard A., Wilson, Bary W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.1981
• Subjects: Amines - pharmacology; Animals; Aza Compounds - pharmacology; Biotransformation; Chromatography, Thin Layer - methods; Coal; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; Male; Microsomes, Liver - metabolism; Mutagenicity Tests; Mutagens; Mutation; Polycyclic Compounds - pharmacology; Pyrenes - pharmacology; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Salmonella typhimurium - drug effects; Structure-Activity Relationship
• ISSN: 0165-1218; 0027-5107
• DOI: 10.1016/0165-1218(81)90055-0

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used to separate components in the basic and tar fractions of solvent refined coal (SRC-I) process solvent (PS) to obtain materials suitable for biological and chemical analysis. Those fractions eluted from TLC plates which were mutagenically active in the Ames/Salmonella assay were analyzed by gas chromatographic mass spectrometry (GCMS) for polycyclic azaarenes, polyaromatic primary amines (PAA) and carbazoles. In all materials tested, a strong correlation was observed between the concentration of PAAs in a given TLC region and the mutagenicity of that region in the Ames assay system. Conversely, azaarenes having 2–4 fused rings and carbazoles were present in both mutagenic and non-mutagenic TLC eluates. No PAAs were detected in mutagenically inactive TLC eluates. In comparison to the mutagenic tar fractions, the PS basic fraction contained relatively larger concentrations of 2- and 3-ringed components such as aminonapthalenes and aminoanthracenes or aminophenanthrenes. The tar fractions, which were essentioally devoid of aminonaphthalenes, had a higher average molecular weight and contained relatively higher concentrations of aminopyrenes.