Synthesis and Some Biochemical Properties of a Novel 5,6,7,8-Tetrahydropyrimido[4,5-c]pyridazine Nucleoside

A novel nucleoside analogue is described based on the pyridazine ring system. The nucleoside was successfully incorporated into DNA via both its phosphoramidite and 5′‐triphosphate derivatives. Enzymatically, the analogue behaves essentially as thymidine: it is a good substrate for the DNA polymerases Taq and exonuclease‐free Klenow fragment, leading to full‐length products when present in either the primer or template strands. In hybridisation studies, the nucleoside displays ambiguous base‐pairing properties, including universal base properties.