The mutagenicity of a cyanide antidote, dimethylaminophenol, in Chinese hamster cells

The mutagenic activity of a cyanide antidote, dimethylaminophenol (DMAP), has been studied at the hypoxanthine-guanine-phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus in a line of Chinese hamster cells (V79), using induced resistance to 8-azaguanine as a marker for forward, point mutation. In a replating type of assay DMAP produced a dose-dependent increase in mutation frequency in suspension-treated cells, in the absence of any extrinsic metabolic activation system. The incorporation of a liver microsome preparation raised the concentration of DMAP required to induce mutation, but similar levels of induced mutation frequency (IMF) were produced.