Skip to Content
Merck
All Photos(2)

Key Documents

A9809

Sigma-Aldrich

Amsacrine hydrochloride

≥98% (TLC), powder

Synonym(s):

4-(9-Acridinylamino)-N-(methanesulfonyl)-m-anisidine hydrochloride, m-AMSA

Sign Into View Organizational & Contract Pricing


About This Item

Empirical Formula (Hill Notation):
C21H19N3O3S · HCl
CAS Number:
Molecular Weight:
429.92
MDL number:
UNSPSC Code:
51111800
PubChem Substance ID:
NACRES:
NA.77

Quality Level

Assay

≥98% (TLC)

form

powder

color

red to brown

mp

197-199 °C (lit.)

solubility

DMSO: 10 mg/mL (with heat and sonication)
30% ethanol: 4 mg/mL

storage temp.

room temp

SMILES string

Cl.COc1cc(NS(C)(=O)=O)ccc1Nc2c3ccccc3nc4ccccc24

InChI

1S/C21H19N3O3S.ClH/c1-27-20-13-14(24-28(2,25)26)11-12-19(20)23-21-15-7-3-5-9-17(15)22-18-10-6-4-8-16(18)21;/h3-13,24H,1-2H3,(H,22,23);1H

InChI key

WDISRLXRMMTXEV-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Gene Information

Application

Amsacrine hydrochloride has been used:
  • as a topoisomerase poison in bacteriophage T4 topoisomerase assay
  • as a topoisomerase inhibitor in Drosophila cell line, Kc167
  • as an antileukemia drug to test its effect on p53 transcriptional activity in tumor xenografts
  • as a topoisomerase II poison in dose-response assays in C elegans

Biochem/physiol Actions

Amsacrine (m-AMSA) is a derivative of acridine and an antileukemia drug. It is an anticancer drug with antineoplastic activity that targets topoisomerase II. AMSA is an apoptosis inducer and favors the accumulation of double-stranded breaks (DSBs). It also inhibits the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 expression in leukemia cells by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). AMSA serves as an adjuvant in trabeculectomy surgery.
Amsacrine hydrochloride is a DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor.

Pictograms

Skull and crossbonesHealth hazard

Signal Word

Danger

Hazard Statements

Hazard Classifications

Acute Tox. 3 Oral - Carc. 2 - Muta. 2 - Repr. 2 - Skin Sens. 1

Storage Class Code

6.1C - Combustible acute toxic Cat.3 / toxic compounds or compounds which causing chronic effects

WGK

WGK 3

Personal Protective Equipment

dust mask type N95 (US), Eyeshields, Gloves

Certificates of Analysis (COA)

Search for Certificates of Analysis (COA) by entering the products Lot/Batch Number. Lot and Batch Numbers can be found on a product’s label following the words ‘Lot’ or ‘Batch’.

Already Own This Product?

Find documentation for the products that you have recently purchased in the Document Library.

Visit the Document Library

L R Ferguson et al.
Environmental and molecular mutagenesis, 27(4), 255-262 (1996-01-01)
Amsacrine (4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulphon-m-anisidide) is an antileukemic drug which inhibits topoisomerase II (topo II) enzymes. We studied effects of two concentrations of amsacrine on the GM10115A cell line. This is a Chinese hamster line containing a single human chromosome 4, which can
Toshiyuki Kozuki et al.
Nucleic acids research, 45(10), 5995-6010 (2017-05-05)
Topoisomerase (topo) IIα and IIβ maintain genome stability and are targets for anti-tumor drugs. In this study, we demonstrate that the decatenation checkpoint is regulated, not only by topo IIα, as previously reported, but also by topo IIβ. The decatenation
Wenge Wang et al.
Cancer biology & therapy, 4(8), 893-898 (2005-09-24)
CP-31398 activates wild-type p53 by a novel mechanism that does not involve phosphorylation of the amino-terminus of p53 and disassociation of MDM2. To identify more potent CP-31398-like p53 activators, we synthesized 4 acridine derivatives with a similar structure to CP-31398.
Michael Jahnz et al.
Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology, 6(5), 920-926 (2005-04-07)
Topoisomerase II is the only enzyme able to cleave and religate double-stranded DNA; this makes it essential for many vital functions during normal cell growth. Increased expression of topoisomerase II is a common occurrence in neoplasia, and different topoisomerase II
Adam C Ketron et al.
Biochemistry, 51(8), 1730-1739 (2012-02-07)
Amsacrine (m-AMSA) is an anticancer agent that displays activity against refractory acute leukemias as well as Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The drug is comprised of an intercalative acridine moiety coupled to a 4'-amino-methanesulfon-m-anisidide headgroup. m-AMSA is historically significant in that

Our team of scientists has experience in all areas of research including Life Science, Material Science, Chemical Synthesis, Chromatography, Analytical and many others.

Contact Technical Service