Synthesis of isotopically labelled DNA degradation products for use in mass spectrometric studies of cellular DNA damage

Thirteen substituted purines and pyrimidines bearing from three to five carbon, nitrogen and/or deuterium isotopic labels have been synthesized in yields ranging from .1 to 70%. Most of the products originate from the same small number of commercially available labelled starting materials, and in several cases one intermediate leads to two products, thus minimizing the expense and time required. The parent compounds are found in tissue as the result of DNA damage often linked with carcinogenesis and mutagenesis. The synthesized compounds serve as internal standards for the study of DNA damage using mass spectrometry. (author)