Alkylating potential of styrene oxide: reactions and factors involved in the alkylation process

The chemical reactivity of styrene-7,8-oxide (SO), an alkylating agent with high affinity for the guanine-N7 position and a probable carcinogen for humans, with 4-(p-nitrobenzyl)pyridine (NBP), a trap for alkylating agents with nucleophilic characteristics similar to those of DNA bases, was investigated kinetically in water/dioxane media. UV-vis spectrophotometry and ultrafast liquid chromatography were used to monitor the reactions involved...Thanks are given to the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and the European Regional Development Fund (Project CTQ2010-18999) for supporting the research reported in this article. M.G.-P. and J.A.-V. thank the Junta de Castilla y León-FEDER Funds for Ph.D. grants, and R.G.-B. thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Educación for a Ph.D. fellowship.Publicad