Isolation and structural identification of a direct-acting mutagen derived from N-nitroso-N-methylpentylamine and Fenton's reagent with copper ion.

N-Nitrosodialkylamines show their mutagenicity by forming α-hydroxynitrosamines in the presence of rat S9 mix in the Ames assay. The hydroxyl radical derived from Fe(2+)-H(2)O(2) (Fenton's reagent) with Cu(2+) activates N-nitrosamines, with an alkyl chain longer than a propyl constituent, to a direct-acting mutagen. The reactivity of Fe(2+)-Cu(2+)-H(2)O(2) on nitrosamines in relation to their metabolic activation is not fully characterized. Here, we report the identification of the direct-acting mutagen derived from N-nitroso-N-methylpentylamine (NMPe) in the presence of Fe(2+), Cu(2+), H(2)O(2) and nitric oxide (NO), which is a product of nitrosamine metabolism. A dichloromethane extract of the NMPe reaction mixtures was fractionated by silica gel column chromatography several times and by a preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); we obtained white crystals as a product. The direct-acting mutagen that was isolated was provisionally identified as 5-ethyl-5-nitro-1-pyrazoline 1-oxide by (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. To confirm the structure of the mutagen, the authentic compound was synthesized from 2-nitrobutene and diazomethane, followed by N-oxidation with m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid. The (1)H NMR spectral data from the direct-acting mutagen that was synthesized was identical to the data from the isolated mutagen. Furthermore, the authentic 5-ethyl-5-nitro-1-pyrazoline 1-oxide was mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535. The results showed that 5-ethyl-5-nitro-1-pyrazoline 1-oxide was a direct-acting mutagen derived from the reaction of NMPe and Fe(2+)-Cu(2+)-H(2)O(2)-NO.