ABSTRACT
41 commercial drugs approved for peroral application in the GDR, whose active agents contain N,N-dialkylamino groups in their chemical structures, have been investigated under simulated conditions of the human stomach. With the drugs containing aminophenazone, amitriptyline, doxycycline and oxytetracycline as active agents N-nitrosodimethylamine is formed as a result of nitrosation reactions. With the drugs containing clomiphene++, disulfiram, probenecid and a diethylamine-containing liquid hypnoticum, there occurred N-nitrosodiethylamine. In no case N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine or N-nitrosopiperidine were detectable. The isolated active agents amitriptyline, clomiphene++ and probenecid themselves proved not to be nitrosatable. The positive findings with these drugs were caused by not yet identified nitrosatable contaminants of these drugs. The quantitative determination of volatile N-nitroso compounds was done upon steam distillation by means of gas chromatograph and chemiluminescence detector.