The covalent bonding of an alkyl group to an organic compound. It can occur by a simple addition reaction or by substitution of another functional group.

Highly reactive chemicals that introduce alkyl radicals into biologically active molecules and thereby prevent their proper functioning. Many are used as antineoplastic agents, but most are very toxic, with carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and immunosuppressant actions. They have also been used as components in poison gases.

A chemical element having an atomic weight of 106.4, atomic number of 46, and the symbol Pd. It is a white, ductile metal resembling platinum, and following it in abundance and importance of applications. It is used in dentistry in the form of gold, silver, and copper alloys.

An alkylating agent in cancer therapy that may also act as a mutagen by interfering with and causing damage to DNA.

A group of alkylating agents derived from mustard gas, with the sulfur replaced by nitrogen. They were formerly used as toxicants and vesicants, but now function as antineoplastic agents. These compounds are also powerful mutagens, teratogens, immunosuppressants, and carcinogens.

The phenomenon whereby compounds whose molecules have the same number and kind of atoms and the same atomic arrangement, but differ in their spatial relationships. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)

'Allyl compounds' are organic substances that contain the allyl group (CH2=CH-CH2-) as a functional component, which can be found in various forms such as allyl alcohol, allyl chloride, and allyl esters.

Guanine is a purine nucleobase, one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of DNA and RNA, involved in forming hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs in double-stranded DNA molecules.

An alkylating sulfhydryl reagent. Its actions are similar to those of iodoacetate.

A sulfhydryl reagent that is widely used in experimental biochemical studies.

Iodinated derivatives of acetic acid. Iodoacetates are commonly used as alkylating sulfhydryl reagents and enzyme inhibitors in biochemical research.

A nitrosourea compound with alkylating, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties.

The location of the atoms, groups or ions relative to one another in a molecule, as well as the number, type and location of covalent bonds.

A nitrosoguanidine derivative with potent mutagenic and carcinogenic properties.

An enzyme that transfers methyl groups from O(6)-methylguanine, and other methylated moieties of DNA, to a cysteine residue in itself, thus repairing alkylated DNA in a single-step reaction. EC 2.1.1.63.

A thiol-containing non-essential amino acid that is oxidized to form CYSTINE.

A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).

Nitrogen mustard derivative of URACIL. It is a alkylating antineoplastic agent that is used in lymphatic malignancies, and causes mainly gastrointestinal and bone marrow damage.

Nitrogen mustard analog of quinacrine used primarily as a stain in the studies of chromosomes and chromatin. Fluoresces by reaction with nucleic acids in chromosomes.

Compounds containing the -SH radical.

Oligopeptide antibiotics from Streptomyces distallicus. Their binding to DNA inhibits synthesis of nucleic acids.

An antibiotic complex produced by Streptomyces kitasatoensis. The complex consists of a mixture of at least eight biologically active components, A1 and A3 to A9. Leucomycins have both antibacterial and antimycoplasmal activities.

The reconstruction of a continuous two-stranded DNA molecule without mismatch from a molecule which contained damaged regions. The major repair mechanisms are excision repair, in which defective regions in one strand are excised and resynthesized using the complementary base pairing information in the intact strand; photoreactivation repair, in which the lethal and mutagenic effects of ultraviolet light are eliminated; and post-replication repair, in which the primary lesions are not repaired, but the gaps in one daughter duplex are filled in by incorporation of portions of the other (undamaged) daughter duplex. Excision repair and post-replication repair are sometimes referred to as "dark repair" because they do not require light.

Polymers where the main polymer chain comprises recurring amide groups. These compounds are generally formed from combinations of diamines, diacids, and amino acids and yield fibers, sheeting, or extruded forms used in textiles, gels, filters, sutures, contact lenses, and other biomaterials.

A biologic alkylating agent that exerts its cytotoxic effects by forming DNA ADDUCTS and DNA interstrand crosslinks, thereby inhibiting rapidly proliferating cells. The hydrochloride is an antineoplastic agent used to treat HODGKIN DISEASE and LYMPHOMA.

The facilitation of a chemical reaction by material (catalyst) that is not consumed by the reaction.

A nitrosourea compound with alkylating, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties.

Hydrazine substituted by one methyl group.

Organic compounds that include a cyclic ether with three ring atoms in their structure. They are commonly used as precursors for POLYMERS such as EPOXY RESINS.

Changing an open-chain hydrocarbon to a closed ring. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)

'Ketones' are organic compounds with a specific structure, characterized by a carbonyl group (a carbon double-bonded to an oxygen atom) and two carbon atoms, formed as byproducts when the body breaks down fats for energy due to lack of glucose, often seen in diabetes and starvation states.

Iodinated hydrocarbons are organic compounds containing carbon and hydrogen atoms, with iodine atoms covalently bonded to them, which are used in medical imaging as radiocontrast agents.

Saturated azacyclopropane compounds. They include compounds with substitutions on CARBON or NITROGEN atoms.

A family of DNA repair enzymes that recognize damaged nucleotide bases and remove them by hydrolyzing the N-glycosidic bond that attaches them to the sugar backbone of the DNA molecule. The process called BASE EXCISION REPAIR can be completed by a DNA-(APURINIC OR APYRIMIDINIC SITE) LYASE which excises the remaining RIBOSE sugar from the DNA.

The products of chemical reactions that result in the addition of extraneous chemical groups to DNA.

Injuries to DNA that introduce deviations from its normal, intact structure and which may, if left unrepaired, result in a MUTATION or a block of DNA REPLICATION. These deviations may be caused by physical or chemical agents and occur by natural or unnatural, introduced circumstances. They include the introduction of illegitimate bases during replication or by deamination or other modification of bases; the loss of a base from the DNA backbone leaving an abasic site; single-strand breaks; double strand breaks; and intrastrand (PYRIMIDINE DIMERS) or interstrand crosslinking. Damage can often be repaired (DNA REPAIR). If the damage is extensive, it can induce APOPTOSIS.

A pyrano-acridone alkaloid found in RUTACEAE plants.

Nitrosourea compounds are a class of alkylating agents used in cancer chemotherapy, which contain a nitro group (NO2) and a urea functional group (R-NH-CO-NH2), known for their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and damage DNA, thereby inhibiting tumor growth.

A derivative of ACETIC ACID that contains one IODINE atom attached to its methyl group.

Inorganic or organic compounds derived from phosphine (PH3) by the replacement of H atoms. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

The parts of a macromolecule that directly participate in its specific combination with another molecule.

The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.

The relationship between the chemical structure of a compound and its biological or pharmacological activity. Compounds are often classed together because they have structural characteristics in common including shape, size, stereochemical arrangement, and distribution of functional groups.

A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).

A class of enzymes involved in the hydrolysis of the N-glycosidic bond of nitrogen-linked sugars.

A class of drugs that differs from other alkylating agents used clinically in that they are monofunctional and thus unable to cross-link cellular macromolecules. Among their common properties are a requirement for metabolic activation to intermediates with antitumor efficacy and the presence in their chemical structures of N-methyl groups, that after metabolism, can covalently modify cellular DNA. The precise mechanisms by which each of these drugs acts to kill tumor cells are not completely understood. (From AMA, Drug Evaluations Annual, 1994, p2026)

Organic salts or esters of methanesulfonic acid.

Salts or ions of the theoretical carbonic acid, containing the radical CO2(3-). Carbonates are readily decomposed by acids. The carbonates of the alkali metals are water-soluble; all others are insoluble. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

Organic esters of sulfuric acid.

A nitrosamine derivative with alkylating, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties. It causes serious liver damage and is a hepatocarcinogen in rodents.

A class of compounds that contain a -NH2 and a -NO radical. Many members of this group have carcinogenic and mutagenic properties.

Unsaturated hydrocarbons of the type Cn-H2n, indicated by the suffix -ene. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed, p408)

An antineoplastic agent with alkylating properties. It also acts as a mutagen by damaging DNA and is used experimentally for that effect.