[Relation of the effectiveness of inducing sister chromatid exchanges to the chemical structure of the mutagen].

The activity of 12 alkylating compounds of different chemical structure has been investigated for the induction of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in a cell culture of Chinese hamster. A linear dependence of SCE upon the concentration has been found for all alkylating compounds. The activity for SCE induction depends upon the chemical structure of the mutagen: benzochinone derivatives (trenimon, E39) and triazine (TEM) are more effective than the derivatives of amidophosphoric acid (dimatif, thiophosphamide, TEPA, phosphamide, dipin, fotrin), and dichlorethylamine (degranol, IMET). In the group of amidophosphoric acid, "monocentric" mutagens are more active for SCE induction than "polycentric" ones.