5-bromouracil

5-bromouracil (or 5-Bromo-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione or 5-BrU) is a component of 5-bromo-2-deoxy-uridine.

5-BrU a brominated derivative of uracil that acts as an antimetabolite or base analog, substituting for thymine in DNA and can induce DNA mutation like 2-Aminopurine . It is used mainly as an experimental mutagen, but its deoxyriboside (5-bromo-2-deoxy-uridine) is used to treat neoplasms.

It is said that this base pair will change from a T-A to a G-C after a couple replication cycles. This is because it 5-BrU is often an enol tautomer, that pairs with a guanine.

Characteristics

Molecular formula: C₄H₃BrN₂O₂ Molecular weight: 191.0 CAS number: 51-20-7