Synthese of 1-(5-deoxy-beta-D-ribo-hexofuranosyl)cytosine and 1-(2,5-dideoxy-beta-D-erythro-hexofuranosyl)cytosine, and their phosphates. Specificity of an mammalian (rat) ribonucleotide-reductase

Mild, acidic hydrolysis of 3-O-benzoyl-1,2,:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-allofuranose gave a diol that was selectively benzoylated at O-6 in high yield by intermediate conversion to the stannylene derivative. The 3,6-dibenzoate was converted to the 5-O-tosyl derivative and thence to a mixture of iodides, which were reduced with tributylstannane to 3,6-di-O-benzoyl-1,2-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-ribo-hexofuranose (6). Acetolysis gave an anomeric mixture of diacetates, which, when treated with N-acetylbis(trimethylsilyl)cytosine gave the protected nucleoside, which was deprotected to free "homocytidine", 1-(5-deoxy-beta-D-ribo-hexofuranosyl)cytosine (11), by alklaine methanolysis. This was N-acetylated and then treated with acetone to give a protected nucleoside, which was labelled by oxidation to the aldehyde, reduction with sodium borotritide, and deprotection. Acidic methanolysis of 6 gave a mixture of methyl 2,6- and 3,6-di-O-benzoylfuranosides, the hydroxyl groups of which were treated by the tetrachloromethane-triphenylphosphine reagent to give the 2-chloro-2-deoxy (21) and 3-chloro-3-deoxy derivatives. Reduction of 21 gave methyl 3,6-di-O-benzoyl-2,5-dideoxy-D-erythro-furanoside, further transformed in 1-(2,5-dideoxy-beta-D-erythro-hexofuranosyl)cytosine mixed with the alpha anomer. Phosphates and diphosphates of the nucleosides were prepared by extensions of known methods. The phosphate and the diphosphate of 11 act neither as substrates nor as inhibitors of a ribonucleotide-reductase from rat asicites tumor.