Doxorubicin hydrochloride (adriamycin) is the most extensively studied of a family of highly fluorescent anthracycline antibiotics produced by several Streptomyces species, first reported in 1967 and later approved for human therapeutic use as an antitumor agent for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. Doxorubicin also exhibits anti-HIV and antibacterial activity. The mode of action of doxorubicin is thought to be due to intercalation of DNA and inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis.