Mutagenicity of carboline methyl derivatives in Salmonella.

A series of linear, methyl-substituted derivatives of 5H-indolo[2,3-b] quinolines was tested for mutagenic activity with the battery of Ames tester strains. Mutagenic activity of indoloquinolones was strongly influenced by the position and a number of methyl groups. All compounds tested, with one exception, act like frame-shift mutagens. Only two compounds among them were mutagenic in the strain detecting oxidative and cross-linking mutagens.