title: When alcohol is the answer: Trapping, identifying and quantifying simple alkylating species in aqueous environments.
abstract: Alkylating agents are a significant class of environmental carcinogens as well as commonly used anticancer therapeutics. Traditional alkylating activity assays have utilized the colorimetric reagent 4-(4-nitrobenzyl)pyridine (4NBP). However, 4NBP based assays have a relatively low sensitivity towards harder, more oxophilic alkylating species and are not well suited for the identification of the trapped alkyl moiety due to adduct instability. Herein we describe a method using water as the trapping agent which permits the trapping of simple alkylating electrophiles with a comparatively wide range of softness/hardness and permits the identification of donated simple alkyl moieties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8063, USA. Electronic address: philip.penketh@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Philip G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Penketh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8066, USA.
authors.forename: Krishnamurthy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shyam
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8066, USA.
authors.forename: Raymond P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8066, USA.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8063, USA.
authors.forename: Kimiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8066, USA.
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sartorelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8063, USA.
authors.forename: Elena S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Ratner
mesh_terms: D000438:Alcohols / Q000737:chemistry*; D000477:Alkylating Agents / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000438:Alcohols; D000477:Alkylating Agents; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental
keywords: Alkylating; Carcinogen; Chemotherapy; Laromustine; Nitrosoureas; Sulfonylhydrazines