The synthesis of 7-substituted 7-deazaguanine and 7-deazaadenine ribonucleosides 1-2, the incorporation of 3a-d into oligonucleotides, and the stability of the corresponding duplexes and base discrimination are described. The pKa values of 3-4 are determined.

The 2'-deoxy-beta-D-ribonucleosides of 1,3-deazapurine (benzimidazole (1)), 1-deazapurine (both 1H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (2) and 3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (3)), and 6-benzoylamino-1-deazapurine (7-benzoylamino-3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (4)) have been prepared and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. Especially compounds 1-3 can serve as artificial nucleosides that may substitut...

A series of 3-deazapurine ribonucleosides 5a–5l bearing diverse C-substituents (alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl) in the position 6 were prepared by Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of either free 6-chloro-3-deazapurine ribonucleoside 4 or its acetyl protected congener 3 followed by deprotection. An improved synthesis of the starting 4-chloro-1-(2,3,5-tri-O-acetylβ-D-ribofuranosyl)-1H-imidazo[4,...

Seven-deazapurine modifications were thought to be highly specific of tRNAs, but have now been discovered in DNA of phages and of phylogenetically diverse bacteria, illustrating the plasticity of these modification pathways. The intermediate 7-cyano-7-deazaguanine (preQ0) is a shared precursor in the pathways leading to the insetion of 7-deazapurine derivatives in both tRNA and DNA. It is also ...

The effect of tautomerism on the mismatch discrimination was studied on 7-deazapurine and 8-aza-7-deazapurine analogues of isoguanosine. 7-Halogenated 7-deaza-2'-deoxyisoguanosines show better base pair discrimination than 2'-deoxyisoguanosine due to the more favored keto tautomer formation. 8-Aza-7-deazaisoguanosine and its 7-halogeno derivatives also show higher keto tautomer population than ...

The coupling reaction of 4-chloro-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]pyridine (6-chloro-3-deazapurine, 3) with several cyclopentyl derivatives under Mitsunubo reaction conditions provides an efficient entry into N-7 and N-9 substituted 3-deazapurine carbocyclic nucleosides of antiviral potential. The versatility of this procedure is illustrated with a new and efficient synthesis of (K)-3-deazaaristeromycin, a fo...