Nucleophilic displacement uracil

Figure 1.43 indicates major sites of reactivity within the ring structures for nucleophilic displacement reactions. Cytosine, thymine, and uracil all react toward nucleophilic attack at the same two sites, the C-4 and C-6 positions. The presence of powerful nucleophiles, even at neutral pH, can lead to significant base modification or cleavage with pyrimidine residues (Debye, 1947). For instance, hydrazine spontaneously adds to the 5,6-double bond, initiating further ring reactions,... 

As in the case of pyrimidine bases discussed previously, adenine and guanine are subject to nucleophilic displacement reactions at particular sites on their ring structures (Figure 1.50). Both compounds are reactive with nucleophiles at C-2, C-6, and C-8, with C-8 being the most common target for modification. However, the purines are much less reactive to nucleophiles than the pyrimidines. Hydrazine, hydroxylamine, and bisulfite—all important reactive species with cytosine, thymine, and uracil—are almost unreactive with guanine and adenine. 

Addition of a nucleophile to the C-6 position of cytosine often results in fascile displacement reactions occurring at the N4 location. With hydroxylamine attack, nucleophilic displacement causes the formation of an N4-hydroxy derivative. A particularly important reaction for bioconjugate chemistry, however, is that of nucleophilic bisulfite addition to the C-6 position. Sulfonation of cytosine can lead to two distinct reaction products. At acid pH wherein the N-3 nitrogen is protonated, bisulfite reaction results in the 6-sulfonate product followed by spontaneous hydrolysis. Raising the pH to alkaline conditions causes effective formation of uracil. If bisulfite addition is done in the presence of a nucleophile, such as a primary amine or hydrazide compound, then transamination at the N4 position can take place instead of hydrolysis (Fig. 38). This is an important mechanism for adding spacer arm functionalities and other small molecules to cytosine-containing oligonucleotides (see Chapter 17, Section 2.1). 

Nucleophilic displacement of halogen with ammonia and amines can be accelerated by carrying out the displacements in acid solution, when the protonated heterocycle is more reactive than the neutral heterocycle. Halogen can also be easily removed hydrogenolytically, for example treatment of 2,4-dichloropyrimidine, readily available from uracil, with hydrogen, in the presence of palladium, or with hydrogen iodide, gives pyrimidine itself. ... 

A common intermediate for all the nucleotides is 5-phosphoribosyl-l-diphosphate (PRPP), produced by successive ATP-dependent phosphorylations of ribose. This has an a-diphosphate leaving group that can be displaced in Sn2 reactions. Similar Sn2 reactions have been seen in glycoside synthesis (see Section 12.4) and biosynthesis (see Box 12.4), and for the synthesis of aminosugars (see Section 12.9). For pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis, the nucleophile is the 1-nitrogen of uracil-6-carboxylic acid, usually called orotic acid. The product is the nucleotide orotidylic acid, which is subsequently decarboxylated to the now recognizable uridylic acid (UMP). 

Halogens are displaced by sulfur nucleophiles as in the phthalazine analogue (24) (67T681). In the thiation of the fused uracil (25) the higher reactivity at C-4, for the reasons discussed above, can be used to effect selective thiation in this position (78CPB2497). 

Ambident nucleophiles, such as guanidine, thiourea, and urea attack 1,3-dimethyluracil first at the 6-position. After cleavage of the uracil ring and displacing ring closure, novel pyrimidines are formed extruding di-... 

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