Nifurpirinol

Nifurpirinol (CAS 13411-16-0) is a nitroaromatic antibiotic, functioning as a substrate for bacterial nitroreductase (NTR) enzymes and exhibiting pronounced cytotoxicity following enzyme activation in cells expressing NTR. Additionally, it serves as a more potent prodrug for targeted cell ablation, particularly in genetically engineered models that enable NTR-mediated biotransformation.

In experimental contexts, Nifurpirinol demonstrates efficient induction of cell death in NTR-expressing cells, offering higher effectiveness compared to alternative nitro-compound prodrugs such as metronidazole. Although specific IC50 values have not been reported, its application has been validated across a range of model systems, including in vivo genetic ablation experiments and in vitro cellular studies. Nifurpirinol can also promote rapid and selective elimination of targeted cells following nitroreductase-mediated conversion, while sparing NTR-negative populations.

In research and application settings, Nifurpirinol is widely used for conditional and tissue-specific cell ablation within transgenic animal models expressing bacterial nitroreductase. This makes it an essential tool in studies of tissue regeneration, developmental biology, and disease modeling, allowing for temporally and spatially controlled manipulation of specific cell lineages.