Acute, Multiple-Dose Dermal and Genetic Toxicity of Nu-3 : A Novel Antimicrobial Agent

Abstract EN

Nu-3 [butyl-phosphate-5′-thymidine-3′-phosphate-butyl] is a modified nucleotide that has been shown to have antimicrobial activity against a range of bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

However, data on the toxicological profile of Nu-3 are still lacking.

In the present study, the toxicity of Nu-3 was evaluated by the following studies: acute oral toxicity, dermal and mucous membrane irritation, multiple-dose toxicity and genotoxicity in vivo and vitro.

The acute oral toxicity test in mice showed that Nu-3 had an LD50 of 2001mg/kg body weight.

The irritation tests on rats revealed that Nu-3 was not irritant, with an irritation scoring of 0.

The multiple-dose toxicity study in rats showed that Nu-3 did not cause significant changes in histology, selected serum chemistry, and hematological parameters compared to the controls.

Rats administrated with multiple-doses of Nu-3 showed no visible toxic symptoms.

Both in vitro and in vivo, Nu-3 exhibited no notable genetic toxicity.

Overall, the data suggest that Nu-3 is hypotoxic or nontoxic antimicrobial compound that warrants being further developed for treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.