Methyl 2-azido-2-deoxy-α-D-lyxofuranoside (1a) and methyl 2-azido-2-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranoside (2) were prepared from D-xylose or D-arabinose, respectively. Employing ESR and DFT/B3LYP/6-31G* calculations, we investigated (i) aminyl radical (RNH•) formation and (ii) reaction pathways of RNH•. Prehydrated electron attachment to 1a and 2 at 77 K produced transient azide anion radical (RN3•−) which reacts via rapid N2 loss at 77 K, forming nitrene anion radical (RN•−). Rapid protonation of RN•− at 77 K formed RNH• and −OH. 15N-labeled-1a confirmed this mechanism. Investigations employing in-house synthesized site-specifically deuterated derivatives of 1a (e.g., CH3 (1b), C4 (1c), and C5 (1d)) established that: (a) a facile intramolecular H-atom transfer from C5 to RNH• generated C5• and RNH2. C5• formation had a small deuterium kinetic isotope effect suggesting that this reaction does not occur via direct H-atom abstraction. (b) Subsequently, C5• underwent a facile unimolecular conversion to ring-opened C4• under a reductive environment. Identification of ring-opened C4• intermediate confirms the mechanism of C5′• mediated unaltered base release associated with DNA-strand break. However, for 2, ESR studies established thermally-activated intermolecular H-atom abstraction by RNH• from methyl group at C1. Thus, sugar ring configuration strongly influence site and pathways of RNH• mediated reactions in pentafuranoses.

S-Ribosylhomocysteinase (LuxS) cleaves the thioether bond in S-ribosylhomocysteine (SRH) to produce homocysteine (Hcys) and 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (DPD), the precursor of the type II bacterial quorum sensing molecule (AI-2). The catalytic mechanism of LuxS comprises of three distinct reaction steps. The first step involves carbonyl migration from the C1 carbon of ribose to C2 and the formation of a 2-ketone intermediate. The second step shifts the C=O group from C2 to C3 position to produce a 3-ketone intermediate. In the final step, the 3-ketone intermediate undergoes a β-elimination reaction resulting in the cleavage of the thioether bond. In this work, the 3-ketone intermediate was chemically synthesized and shown to be chemically and kinetically competent in the LuxS catalytic pathway. Substrate analogues halogenated at the C3 position of ribose were synthesized and acted as time-dependent inhibitors of LuxS. The time dependence was caused by enzyme-catalyzed elimination of halide ions. Examination of the kinetics of halide release and decay of the 3-ketone intermediate catalyzed by wild-type and mutant LuxS enzymes revealed that Cys-84 is the general base responsible for proton abstraction in the three reaction steps, whereas Glu-57 likely facilitates substrate binding and proton transfer during catalysis.

Couplings of gemcitabine with the functionalized carboxylic acids (C9-C13) or reactions of 4-N-tosylgemcitabine with the corresponding alkyl amines afforded 4-N-alkanoyl and 4-N-alkyl gemcitabine derivatives. The analogues with a terminal hydroxyl group on the alkyl chain were efficiently fluorinated under conditions that are compatible with protocols for 18F labeling. The 4-N-alkanoylgemcitabines showed potent cytostatic activities in the low nM range against a panel of tumor cell lines while cytotoxicity of the 4-N-alkylgemcitabines were in the low μM range. The cytotoxicity for the 4-N-alkanoylgemcitabine analogues were reduced approximately by two orders of magnitude in the 2′-deoxycytidine kinase (dCK)-deficient CEM/dCK- cell line whereas cytotoxicity of the 4-N-alkylgemcitabines were only 2-5 times lower. None of the compounds acted as efficient substrates for cytosolic dCK, and therefore, the 4-N-alkanoyl analogues need to be converted first to gemcitabine to display a significant cytostatic potential, while 4-N-alkyl derivatives attain the modest activity without “measurable” conversion to gemcitabine.

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