Amustaline (dihydrochloride)

Amustaline (S-303) dihydrochloride, a nucleic acid-targeted alkylator, is an efficient pathogen inactivation agent for blood components containing red blood cells. Amustaline dihydrochloride has three components: an acridine anchor (an intercalator that targets nucleic acids non-covalently), an effector (a bis-alkylator group that reacts with nucleophiles), and a linker (a small flexible carbon chain containing a labile ester bond that hydrolyzes at neutral pH to yield non-reactive breakdown products)[1][2].

[1]Aubry M, et, al. Amustaline (S-303) treatment inactivates high levels of Chikungunya virus in red-blood-cell components. Vox Sang. 2018 Apr;113(3):232-241.|[2]Mufti NA, et, al. Treatment of whole blood (WB) and red blood cells (RBC) with S-303 inactivates pathogens and retains in vitro quality of stored RBC. Biologicals. 2010 Jan;38(1):14-9.|[3]North A, et, al. Preclinical pharmacokinetic and toxicology assessment of red blood cells prepared with S-303 pathogen inactivation treatment. Transfusion. 2011 Oct;51(10):2208-18.