Skip to main content

Government Funding Lapse
Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

psoralen

A furocoumarin that intercalates with DNA, inhibiting DNA synthesis and cell division. Psoralen is used in Photochemotherapy with high-intensity long-wavelength UVA irradiation. Psoralens are tricyclic furocumarins and have a strong tendency to intercalate with DNA base pairs. Irradiation of nucleic acids in the presence of psoralen with long wave UV (~360 nm) results in the 2+2 cyclo- addition of either of its two photoreactive sites with 5,6-carbon bonds of pyrimidines resulting in crosslinking double-stranded nucleic acids.

Check for active clinical trials using this agent View this agent in the NCI Thesaurus

Synonym:	ficusin
Chemical structure:	6-hydroxy-5-benzofuranacrylic Acid deta-lacton

psoralen

Search NCI's Drug Dictionary