Distamycin is a polyamide-antibiotic, which acts as a minor groove binder, binding to the small furrow of the double helix.

[1] Distamycin is a pyrrole-amidine antibiotic and analogous to netropsin and the class of lexitropsins.

Distamycin prefers AT-rich DNA-sequences and tetrades of [TGGGGT]4.

[2][3] Distamycin inhibits the transcription and increases the activity of the topoisomerase II.

[4][5] Derivates from distamycin are used as alkylating antineoplastic agents to combat tumours.