Mono- and Di-Alkylation Processes of DNA Bases by Nitrogen Mustard Mechlorethamine

The reactivity of nitrogen mustard mechlorethamine (mec) with purine bases towards formation of mono- (G-mec and A-mec) and dialkylated (AA-mec, GG-mec and AG-mec) adducts has been studied using density functional theory (DFT). To gain a complete overview of DNA-alkylation processes, direct chloride substitution and formation through activated aziridinium species were considered as possible reaction paths for adduct formation. Our results confirm that DNA alkylation by mec occurs via aziridine intermediates instead of direct substitution. Consideration of explicit water molecules in conjunction with polarizable continuum model (PCM) was shown as an adequate computational method for a proper representation of the system. Moreover, Runge-Kutta numerical kinetic simulations including the possible bisadducts have been performed. These simulations predicted a product ratio of 83:17 of GG-mec and AG-mec diadducts, respectively.