Synlett 2024; 35(06): 659-664
DOI: 10.1055/a-2079-9310
cluster
Special Issue to Celebrate the Centenary Year of Prof. Har Gobind Khorana

Chemical Diversification of Carbocyclic Fluorinated Pyrimidine Nucleosides: Introducing 2′-Arabino Analogues and Ring Unsaturation

Caecilie M. M. Benckendorff
a   Centre for Glycoscience, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
b   Lennard-Jones Laboratory, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
,
Chris S. Hawes
b   Lennard-Jones Laboratory, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
,
Mark Smith
c   Riboscience LLC, 428 Oakmead Pkwy, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA
,
a   Centre for Glycoscience, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
b   Lennard-Jones Laboratory, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
› Author Affiliations
Keele University, Riboscience LLC, and the Royal Society of Chemistry (Research Enablement Grant E21-7055928079) are thanked for funding to C.M.M.B. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI, Future Leaders Fellowship, MR/T019522/1) are thanked for project grant funding to G.J.M.


Abstract

Analogues of the canonical nucleosides have a longstanding presence and proven capability within medicinal chemistry and drug-discovery research. Herein, we report chemical diversification of carbocyclic pyrimidine nucleosides containing CF2 and CHF in place of the furanose oxygen to introduce ring unsaturation and 2′-epimers. Utilizing gram-scale access to 6′-(R)-monofluoro- and 6′-gem-difluorouridine, we explore the provision of 2′,3′-didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxy, and 1′,2′-didehydro-2′-deoxy analogues, alongside the first example of a 6′-(R)-fluoro arabino-carbauridine. Key stereochemistries and the presence of unsaturation are confirmed using X-ray crystallography and NMR, and an indicative conformational preference for a monofluoro 2′,3′-didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxy system is presented. This synthetic blueprint offers a potential to explore biological activity for these hitherto unavailable materials, including a direct comparison to established nucleoside analogue drugs.

Supporting Information



Publication History

Received: 22 March 2023

Accepted after revision: 24 April 2023

Accepted Manuscript online:
24 April 2023

Article published online:
31 May 2023

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