Hydroxyurea

Description

Hydroxyurea is a monohydroxyl-substituted urea (hydroxycarbamate) antimetabolite. Hydroxyurea selectively inhibits ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase, an enzyme required to convert ribonucleoside diphosphates into deoxyribonucleoside diphosphates, thereby preventing cells from leaving the G1/S phase of the cell cycle. This agent also exhibits radiosensitizing activity by maintaining cells in the radiation-sensitive G1 phase and interfering with DNA repair.[1]

Hydroxyurea structure, image from NCBI Pubchem

Alternative Names

• Hydroxycarbamide
• N-Hydroxyurea
• Hydrea
• Onco-carbide

Chemical Name

Hydroxyurea

Suppliers

Sigma

References

• Median facial clefts in Xenopus laevis: roles of retinoic acid signaling and homeobox genes. Kennedy AE, Dickinson AJ. Dev Biol. May 1, 2012; 365 (1): 229-40.
• National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database; CID=3657, [2]