A substantial fraction of mutations that arise in the cell comes from oxidative damage to DNA bases. Oxidation of purine bases at the 8-position, yielding 8-oxo-G and 8-oxo-A, results in conformational changes (from anti to syn) that cause miscoding during DNA replication. Here we describe the synthesis and biophysical and biochemical properties of low-polarity shape mimics of 8-oxopurines, and we report that these new analogues exhibit ...