A method was developed to monitor the in vivo formation of
N-nitrosomorpholine. N-Nitroso(2-hydroxyethyl)glycine, a major urinary metabolite of
N-nitrosomorpholine, was quantified as its methyl
ester-trimethylsilyl
ether derivative, using gas chromatography with
nitrosamine-specific detection. When the method was applied to rats, the in vivo formation of, or exposure to, as little as 0.6 micrograms of
N-nitrosomorpholine could be quantified. The method was also applicable to human urine, with a detection limit of approximately 0.5 micrograms of N-nitroso(2-hydroxyethyl)glycine per 100-ml urine sample. The formation of
N-nitrosomorpholine was measured in rats treated by gavage with a wide range of doses of
morpholine and NaNO2. Depending on the dose, 0.5 to 12% of the
morpholine was nitrosated.
N-Nitrosomorpholine formation showed a high degree of variability among rats treated with a given dose of
morpholine and NaNO2, but the levels of
N-nitrosomorpholine formed were generally in agreement with expectations based on in vitro studies in which dependence on
morpholine concentration multiplied by
nitrite concentration squared has been established. The formation of
N-nitrosomorpholine was also measured in rats administered a diet containing 50 ppm of
morpholine and 1000 ppm of NaNO2, a regimen which has been previously shown to induce liver cell
tumors in 58% of the animals. The mean daily formation of
N-nitrosomorpholine under these conditions was estimated to be 0.88 +/- 0.59 mumol/rat (S.D.), which is high enough to account for the observed
tumor incidence. The results of this study provide quantitative support for the assumption that in vivo formation of
N-nitrosomorpholine leads to
tumor development.