Treatment of ribonucleosides with thionyl chloride/pyridine/acetonitrile (0 °C to ambient temperature) resulted in essentially quantitative formation of 5′-chloro-5′-deoxy-2′,3′-O-sulfinylnucleoside derivatives. These diastereomeric sulfite esters underwent deprotection readily with aqueous methanolic ammonia. This gave 5′-chloro-5′-deoxynucleosides without use of the suspected carcinogen, hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA). Nucleophilic displacement with sodium thiolates in dimethylformamide (−30 °C to ambient temperature) gave 5′-S-aryl(or alkyl)-5′-thionucleosides in high yields. Treatment of ribonucleosides with thionyl chloride/acetonitrile without pyridine followed by aqueous work-up gave diastereomeric 2′,3′-O-sulfinylnucleosides with an unmodified 5′-hydroxyl group. Diagnostic NMR shifts for cyclic sulfite ester stereochemistry are noted. Key words: adenosine, 5′-S-aryl(or alkyl)-5′-thionucleosides, 5′-chloro-5′-deoxynucleosides, uridine, nucleosides.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.