ENU

ENU
Skeletal formula of ENU
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
N-Ethyl-N-nitrosourea
Other names
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
Abbreviations ENU[citation needed]
1761174
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.010.975 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 212-072-2
KEGG
RTECS number
  • YT3150000
UNII
UN number 2811
  • InChI=1S/C3H7N3O2/c1-2-6(5-8)3(4)7/h2H2,1H3,(H2,4,7) checkY
    Key: FUSGACRLAFQQRL-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  • CCN(N=O)C(N)=O
Properties
C3H7N3O2
Molar mass 117.108 g·mol−1
log P 0.208
Vapor pressure 0.00244 kPa @ 25˚C[1]
Acidity (pKa) 12.317
Basicity (pKb) 1.680
Absorbance ε398 = 11.86 mM−1 cm−1[2]
Hazards
GHS labelling:
GHS06: Toxic GHS08: Health hazard
Danger
H301, H312, H332, H350, H360
P280, P308+P313
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
300 mg kg−1 (oral, rat)
Related compounds
Related ureas
Related compounds
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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ENU, also known as N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (chemical formula C3H7N3O2), is a highly potent mutagen. For a given gene in mice, ENU can induce 1 new mutation in every 700 loci. It is also toxic at high doses.

The chemical is an alkylating agent, and acts by transferring the ethyl group of ENU to nucleobases (usually thymine) in nucleic acids. Its main targets are the spermatogonial stem cells, from which mature sperm are derived.

  1. ^ a b "N-Nitroso-N-ethylurea" (PDF). Report on Carcinogens, Fourteenth Edition. NIEHS. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  2. ^ Salinger, Andrew P.; Justice, Monica J. (2008). "Mouse Mutagenesis Using N-Ethyl-N-Nitrosourea (ENU): Figure 1". Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. 2008 (4). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: pdb.prot4985. doi:10.1101/pdb.prot4985. ISSN 1940-3402. PMID 21356809. S2CID 1589523.