The synthesis of a new series of 2-(aryl)alkylthio derivatives of N-ethylcarboxamido adenosine (NECA) is described, in comparison with the corresponding derivatives of adenosine. Binding studies (A 1 , A 2A , and A 3 ) and adenylyl cyclase activity (A 2B ) at human adenosine receptor subtypes stably transfected in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells showed that the 2-(aryl)alkylthioadenosine derivatives are more potent than the corresponding NECA derivatives at A 1 receptors, while the NECA derivatives possess highest affinity at both A 2A and A 3 receptors. Thus, the 2-(1-pentyl)thioadenosine (7) with a K i A 1 = 91 nM, the 2-phenylethylthioNECA (18) with a K i A 2A = 24 nM, and the 2-phenylmethylthioadenosine (11) with a K i A 3 = 68 nM, could be useful tools to be modificated in order to find very potent and selective agonists for the human adenosine receptor subtypes.