Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
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Category: Drugs
Posted on: October 10, 2007 9:00 AM, by Molecule of the Day
Uracil mustard is a mimic of the RNA component and DNA precursor uracil, and it also has a few reactive ends that can do some damage.
Those chlorines amount to very reactive ends; the idea here is that they're hopefully a little better targeted than generally toxic molecules like the plain old nitrogen mustards. Hopefully, most of your cancer drug ends up in cancer cells, and targeting DNA bases (which they go through like crazy) has been a common strategy.
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Comments
I had an O-chem professor in undergrad whose job it was in his European homeland's army to "diffuse" old mustard gas. I guess they had a whole bunch left over from a war that needed disposing of. Fun job!!
Posted by: Vince Noir | October 10, 2007 12:54 PM