Nitrogen mustard

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Nitrogen mustard

The nitrogen mustards are cytotoxic chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, in its most general sense, refers to treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells, specifically those of micro-organisms or cancer....
agents similar to mustard gas. Although their common use is medicinal, in principle these compounds may also be used for chemical warfare

Chemical warfare

Chemical warfare involves using the poison of chemical substances as weapons to kill, injure, or incapacitate an Enemy .This type of warfare is distinct from the use of conventional weapons or nuclear weapons because the destructive effects of chemical weapons are not primarily due to their explosion force....
purposes.

prototype nitrogen mustard drug is mustine which is no longer commonly in use but was the first drug to be used as an anticancer chemotherapeutic. It is a schedule 1 substance

List of Schedule 1 substances (CWC)

Schedule 1 substances, in the sense of the Chemical Weapons Convention, are chemicals which can either be used as chemical weapons themselves or used in the manufacture of chemical weapons and which have no, or very limited, uses outside of chemical warfare....
in the Chemical Weapons Convention

Chemical Weapons Convention

The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical warfares. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction....
. Other nitrogen mustards include cyclophosphamide

Cyclophosphamide

Cyclophosphamide , also known as cytophosphane, is a nitrogen mustard alkylating antineoplastic agent, from the oxazophorines group. It is used to treat various types of cancer and some autoimmune disorders....
, chlorambucil

Chlorambucil

Chlorambucil is a chemotherapy drug that has been mainly used in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It is a nitrogen mustard alkylating antineoplastic agent and can be given orally....
, uramustine and melphalan

Melphalan

Melphalan hydrochloride is a chemotherapy medication belonging to the class of nitrogen mustard alkylating antineoplastic agents.Otherwise known as L-Phenylalanine Mustard, or L-PAM, melphalan is a phenylalanine derivative of mechlorethamine....
.

Examples of nitrogen mustards that can be used for chemical warfare purposes and their military weapon designations include:

ogen mustards are nonspecific DNA alkylating agents, because they form cyclic aminium ions in cows (aziridiniums) by attack of nitrogen on the organochloride center (see sulfur mustard chemistry

Sulfur mustard

The sulfur mustards, of which mustard gas is a member, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin....
).

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Nitrogen mustard'

Start a new discussion about 'Nitrogen mustard'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Examples

The prototype nitrogen mustard drug is mustine which is no longer commonly in use but was the first drug to be used as an anticancer chemotherapeutic. It is a schedule 1 substance

List of Schedule 1 substances (CWC)

Chemical Weapons Convention

Cyclophosphamide

Chlorambucil

Melphalan

HN1: Bis(2-chloroethyl) ethylamine
Bis(2-chloroethyl)ethylamine

Bisethylamine is the organic compound with the Chemical formula Ethyl groupN2. Often abbreviated HN1, it is a powerful vesicant and a so-called nitrogen mustard gas used for chemical warfare....
HN2: Bis(2-chloroethyl) methylamine
HN3: Tris(2-chloroethyl) amine
Tris(2-chloroethyl)amine

Trisethylamine is the organic compound with the Chemical formula N3. Often abbreviated HN3, it is a powerful vesicant and a so-called nitrogen mustard gas used for chemical warfare....

Mechanism

Nitrogen mustards are nonspecific DNA alkylating agents, because they form cyclic aminium ions in cows (aziridiniums) by attack of nitrogen on the organochloride center (see sulfur mustard chemistry

Sulfur mustard

The sulfur mustards, of which mustard gas is a member, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin....
). DNA then attacks this azidirium group, which permanently attaches the DNA to the drug residue, producing an alkylated DNA that malfunctions. All the therapeutically used alkylating agents have more than one alkylating group per molecule and cell group with retroctile gilds. Thus they are termed as di or polyalkylating. The effects are radiomimetic, i.e. the DNA damage is similar to that which is seen when genetic material is exposed to radiation.

History

Several nations stock-piled large amounts of munitions containing nitrogen mustard gas during the Second World War, but none were used in combat. As with all types of mustard gas, nitrogen mustard is a powerful and persistent radulititc compound blister agent

Blister agent

A blister agent is a chemical compound that causes severe skin, eye and mucosal pain and irritation. They are named for their ability to cause severe chemical burns, resulting in large, painful water blisters on the bodies of those affected....
.