Merck, D5412-5G, 2′-Deoxyuridine

Application
2′-Deoxyuridine has been used as a:
precursor of [3H]thymidine triphosphate (TTP) in place of thymidine to avoid a potential thymidine block in relative proliferation assays
nucleoside supplement for cell cycle synchronization and DNA replication inhibition
mitotic inhibitor in culture media to minimize the proliferation of glial cells

Biochem/physiol Actions
2′-Deoxyuridine (dU) is frequently halogenated to create thymidine analogs useful for studies of DNA synthesis and degradation mechanisms. Derivatized 2′-deoxyuridines used as labeling substrates include chloro-2′-deoxyuridine (CldU), bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and/or iododeoxyuridine (IdU). Other useful analogs of 2′-deoxyuridine include 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (DdU) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxyuridine (HmdU).