alkylating agent

British

/ ˈælkɪˌleɪtɪŋ /

noun

any cytotoxic drug containing alkyl groups, such as chlorambucil, that acts by damaging DNA; widely used in chemotherapy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The alkylating agent effect also had a greater impact on those of African ancestry.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2024

They isolate the blood flow through a cancerous area with tourniquets, divert it through a heart-lung machine, lace it with some alkylating agent such as nitrogen mustard.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is the view of Dr. Peter Alexander of the Chester Beatty Research Institute in London that “any alkylating agent which is effective in sterilizing insects would also be a powerful mutagen and carcinogen.”

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023