Relationship between polarographic reduction potential and mutagenicity of nitroarenes.

A series of nitropyrenes and other nitroarenes were reduced electrochemically with a dropping mercury electrode. The half-wave potentials (E1/2) corresponding to the reduction of the various nitro functions mutagenicities exhibited by these chemicals in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA1538 was demonstrated. A linear relationship between E1/2 and the calculated energies of the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) was also established. This indicates that the mutagenicities of nitroarenes can be predicted from calculated LUMO energies.