Synthesis and conformational analysis of 1-[2,4-dideoxy-4-C-hydroxymethyl-α-L-lyxopyranosyl]thymine

Previously different types of nucleosides with a six-membered carbohydrate moiety have been evaluated for their potential antiviral and antibiotic properties and as building blocks in nucleic acid synthesis. However, a pyranose nucleoside with a 1,4-substitution pattern like 1-[2,4-dideoxy-4-C-hydroxymethyl-alpha-L-lyxopyranosyl]thymine (4) has not been studied yet. Modeling suggested that this nucleoside would show the C-4(1) conformation in contrast to anhydrohexitol nucleosides (1) whose most stable conformation is C-1(4). The key to the synthesis of 4 involves the stereoselective introduction of the hydroxymethyl group onto the C-4 carbon of the pyranose sugar. Attempts to achieve this via hydroboration/oxidation of a C-4'-exocyclic vinylic intermediate selectively yielded the undesired a-directed hydroxymethyl group. Therefore, we envisaged another approach in which the C-4 substituent was introduced upon treatment of 2,3-O-isopropylidene-1-O-methyl-4-O-phenoxythiocarbonyl-alpha-L-lyxopyranose with beta-tributylstannyl styrene. This allowed stereoselective beta-directed introduction of a 2-phenylethenyl group at C-4, which was converted via oxidation/reduction (OsO4, NaIO4/NaBH4) into the desired 4-hydroxymethyl group (20). The resulting 1-O-methyl-2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl-protected sugar was coupled with silylated thymine, using SnCl2 as Lewis acid (22). After suitable protection, Barton deoxygenation of the 2'-hydroxyl function of the obtained ribo-nucleoside yielded the desired 2'-deoxynucleoside 4, indeed showing the expected equatorial orientation of the thymine ring (C-4(1)).