Benzene is a widely known carcinogen and a cause of bone-marrow toxicity and leukaemia in humans. para-Benzoquinone is a stable metabolite of benzene. Its reaction with deoxycytidine, deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine produces the major stable exocyclic compounds (3-hydroxy)-1,N4-benzetheno-2'-deoxycytidine, (9-hydroxy)-1,N6-benzetheno-2'-deoxyadenosine and (7-hydroxy)-1,N2-benzetheno-2'-deoxyguanosine, respectively, on a large scale and at high yield. The desired products were identified by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and UV spectroscopy. These adducts were converted to the fully protected phosphoramidites and incorporated site-specifically into a series of oligonucleotides. 1,N6-Ethano-2'-deoxyadenosine is one of the exocyclic adducts formed during DNA reaction with the antitumour agent, 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)nitrosourea. This compound was synthesized on a large scale with a high yield (62%) and then was converted to the phosphoramidite and incorporated site-specifically into oligonucleotides. The coupling efficiency of the incorporation of all these adducts was high (> or = 93%). After de-protection and purification of these oligomers, enzymatic hydrolysis and analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography confirmed the presence of the adduct in the oligomers. These oligomers are being used to investigate the biochemical and physical properties of these adducts.