By carrying out the pre-incubation of bacteria with N-nitrosamines under acidic conditions, the mutagenicity of N-nitrosodimethylamine on Salmonella TA100 and E. coli WP2 try, hcr was detected with increased sensitivity, compared to usual assays in neutral buffers. Using this modified assay system, compounds have been screened for their modulating effects on N-nitrosamine-mediated mutagenesis and the following were found to be inhibitors: cysteine, cysteamine, bisulfite, n-propylamine, n-butylamine, n-hexylamine, n-octylamine, n-nonylamine, serotonine, tryptamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine and oleic acid. The mechanisms of inhibition are discussed.