Pteridines as intermediates

Palladium-mediated cross-coupling reactions in pteridine chemistry provide for variation at position 6 using halogenated pyrazines or pteridines as substrates (see Section 10.18.7.4). The 6-bromopyrazine 168 is a versatile intermediate leading to pteridine 169 both compounds have been shown to be substrates for palladium-mediated cross-coupling reactions <2000J(P1)89> (Scheme 32). 

The known chemistry is almost entirely limited to the fully conjugated systems which have received a great deal of attention in recent years. Most systems are readily available and a number of these have been prepared for biological purposes. Others like the furazano[3,4-cf]pyrimidines can be used as intermediates in the preparation of purine or pteridine ring systems. 

A further method of pteridine synthesis from pyrimidine-4,5-diamine involves their reaction with aldehydes and hydrogen cyanide to give 5-(a-cyanoalkylamino)pyrimidines as intermediates which undergo cyclization to yield dihydropteridines which are subsequently oxidized to give the pteridines.118 In some cases the oxidation occurs spontaneously under the conditions of the cyclization. 

Dihydropteroic acid (85) is an intermediate to the formation of the folic acid necessary for intermediary metabolism in both bacteria and man. In bacteria this intermediate is produced by enzymatic condensation of the pteridine, 86, with para-amino-benzoic acid (87). It has been shown convincingly that sulfanilamide and its various derivatives act as a false substrate in place of the enzymatic reaction that is, the sulfonamide blocks the reaction by occupying the site intended for the benzoic acid. The lack of folic acid then results in the death of the microorganism. Mammals, on the other hand, cannot synthesize folic acid instead, this compound must be ingested preformed in the form of a vitamin. Inhibition of the reaction to form folic acid Ls thus without effect on these higher organisms. 

Neopterin cyclic phosphate (92) has been isolated as an intermediate in the biosynthesis of pteridines from GTP in Comamonas Tracer studies show that the phosphoryl group in (92) originates from the... 

In view of the importance in biochemical processes of pteridines such as folic acid, methotrexate, L-biopterin, and leucettidine <1996CHEC-II(7)679>, synthetic routes to fused pteridines continue to occupy considerable attention. Imidazo-fused pteridines have now been prepared from 3-aminopyrazine-2-carboxamides via carbodiimide intermediates. If the amido-nitrogen in the starting compound is further substituted, as in the scheme, the... 

A strategy has been described for the synthesis of 2-ethyIthio-6-(3-hydroxy-1,2-0-isopropylidenepropyl)pteridin-4(3//)-one 90 which can be used as a useful intermediate for the conversion of neopterin to biopterin. Diaminopyrimidinone 86 reacts with D-arabinose phenylhydrazone 87, the obtained diastereomeric mixture 88 is converted into its isopropylidene derivative 89 which under oxidation conditions yields 90 <00H(53)1551>. 

There are a number of studies on the biosynthesis of various pteridines, i.e., xanthopterin (65), isoxanthopterin (67), erythropterin (73), leucopterin (68), and pterin (62) (509-511). The most important intermediate of the proposed biosynthetic pathway from guanosine triphosphate (GTP) (604) seems to be di-hydroneopterin triphosphate (H2-NTP) (605), however, because evidence has recently been accumulated indicating that pteridines such as biopterin (70), sepiapterin (81), and drosopterins (87) are synthesized from GTP (604) by way of H2-NTP (605) (Scheme 76) (5/2). 

Both sulfonamides and trimethoprim (not a sulfonamide) sequentially interfere with folic acid synthesis by bacteria. Folic acid functions as a coenzyme in the transfer of one-carbon units required for the synthesis of thymidine, purines, and some amino acids and consists of three components a pteridine moiety, PABA, and glutamate (Fig. 44.1). The sulfonamides, as structural analogues, competitively block PABA incorporation sulfonamides inhibit the enzyme dihydropteroate synthase, which is necessary for PABA to be incorporated into dihydropteroic acid, an intermediate compound in the formation of folinic acid. Since the sulfonamides reversibly block the synthesis of folic acid, they are bacteriostatic drugs. Humans cannot synthesize folic acid and must acquire it in the diet thus, the sulfonamides selectively inhibit microbial growth. 

With carefully selected aliphatic precursors, the synthesis of single stereoisomers of side-chain-substituted pteridines has been achieved (Schemes 20-22). The synthesis of L-biopterin 106 requires 5-deoxy-L-arabinose 102 as a key intermediate preparable from the expensive sugars L-rhamnose and L-arabinose. Alternatively, the readily... 

As a final example of regioselective control (Scheme 25), sulfonium ylides usually give nitrones when reacted with nitroso groups via oxaziridine intermediates. However, 7-aryl-2-dimethylamino-3,4,5,6-tetrahydropteridine-4,6-diones 120 were directly formed when nitrosopyrimidine 121 reacted with dimethylphenacylsulfonium bromides 122 instead of the isomeric 5-oxides <1996H(43)437>. It was also reported that the resulting pteridines were reduced to give 7,8-dihydro derivatives 123 with sodium dithionite (Table 7). 

The two oxidation states of (17) that are relevant in biopterin-dependent redox reactions are the four-electron and two-electron reduced forms, tetrahydrobiopterin (19) and p-quinonoid dihydrobiopterin (20), respectively. The oxidation state between these two, i.e. a radical, may also be relevant though it has not been detected as an intermediate in enzymatic reactions. Structurally, pteridines and flavins are rather similar and hence show similar chemical behavior in many respects. As a redox coenzyme, (19) is not encountered nearly as frequently as nicotinamides or flavins. It is, however, the cofactor of three very... 

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