Identification of mutagenic heterocyclic amines (IQ, Trp-P-1 and AαC) in the water of the Danube River

Three mutagenic heterocyclic amines, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo-[4,5- f]quinoline (IQ), 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1) and 2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC), were isolated and identified in water from the Danube River in Vienna. Heterocyclic amines were extracted from river water by the blue rayon hanging method, and analyzed by gas chromatography with a nitrogen-phosphorous detector (GC-NPD) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after conversion into their N-dimethylaminomethylene derivatives. Identity of IQ, Trp-P-1 and AαC in the river water was confirmed by GC-MS. The contents of IQ, Trp-P-1 and AαC were estimated by GC-NPD at 1.78 ± 0.17, 0.14 ± 0.02 and 0.44 ± 0.02 ng/g blue rayon equivalent (n = 3), respectively. The total amounts of these amines accounted for 26% of the mutagenicity of blue rayon extracts evaluated by the Ames test using TA98 with metabolic activation. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.