An approach to the design of non-mutagenic azo dyes: 1. The identification of non-mutagenic precursors and potential metabolites

Abstract

This paper describes a strategy for the development of non-mutagenic dyes by identifying and elaborating some non-genotoxic precursors. The approach presented makes use of the numerous published articles which describe the results of the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity testing of azo dyes and their intermediates. A number of chemical intermediates have been evaluated in this study as potential replacements for known carcinogenic dye intermediates which have been used in the past to produce dyes possessing good physical and chemical properties. Several of the intermediates examined were found to be non-mutagenic, and were converted to azo dyes which were themselves non-mutagenic. The results of this study suggest that the development of non-carcinogenic azo dyes could be accomplished by employing an approach which would utilize non-mutagenic intermediates and also take into consideration the potential genotoxicity of the metabolites resulting from reductive cleavage of the azo linkages.