Mepacrine base

Dichloro-7-methoxy acridine may be prepared by the oxidation of 2,4-dichloro toluene and treating the resulting acid with 4-amino anisole at 220°C in the presence of KOH and w-butanol the additional compound when reaeted with either POCI3 or SOCI2 undergoes cyclization. One mole each of the side chain and the acridine residue get eondensed to yield the mepacrine base which on treatment with hydrochloric acid gives the offieial eompound. 

As described in section 4.1, the DNA double helix must unwind to allow access ofthe polymerase enzymes to produce two new strands ofDNA. This is facilitated by DNA gyrase, the target of the quinolones. Some agents interfere with the unwinding of the chromosome by physical obstruction. These include the acridine dyes, of which the topical antiseptic proflavine is the most familiar, and the antimalarial acridine, mepacrine. They prevent strand separation by insertion (intercalation) between base pairs from each strand, but exhibit very poor selective toxicity. 

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