Ancitabine hydrochloride (CAS 10212-25-6)

Ancitabine hydrochloride, also known as cytosine arabinoside hydrochloride, is a nucleoside analog where the sugar component is arabinose instead of the more common ribose or deoxyribose found in natural nucleosides. This modification plays a crucial role in the chemical′s function, particularly in the context of nucleic acid synthesis and research related to enzymatic processes involving DNA and RNA. The primary mechanism of action of ancitabine hydrochloride involves its incorporation into DNA and RNA. Due to its structural similarity to cytidine, ancitabine can be incorporated into nucleic acids during the replication and transcription processes. However, the arabinose sugar creates structural disruptions in the nucleic acid chain, leading to the inhibition of DNA polymerase and RNA polymerase activities. This results in the termination or significant slowing of nucleic acid synthesis. Ancitabine hydrochloride has been used extensively to study the effects of nucleoside analogs on DNA and RNA synthesis. Researchers utilize this compound to understand how changes in the sugar moiety of nucleotides affect the elongation and stability of nucleic acid chains. This is crucial for elucidating the fundamental mechanisms of genetic replication and transcription. Furthermore, ancitabine hydrochloride serves as an important tool in enzymology, particularly in studies involving DNA polymerases and RNA polymerases. It helps in characterizing the specificity and kinetics of these enzymes, as ancitabine′s incorporation can inhibit these enzymes in a manner that is informative for understanding how nucleotide structure affects enzyme activity.