Description
Bleomycin consists in a complex of 11 glycopeptide anti-cancer antibiotics originally isolated from Streptomyces verticillus. The dominant components of the complex are bleomycin A2 and B2, which typically represent >90% of the total weight. Bleomycin has found clinical application in the treatment of a range of tumors. Bleomycin acts by intercalation of DNA and RNA. In the presence of oxygen and metal ions (e.g. copper and iron), Bleomycin forms a pseudo-enzyme that induces DNA cleavage