Pterines

In spite of the good yields of L-foUc acid obtained in this reaction, all of the pubHshed methods for the synthesis of 6-bromomethylpterin (20) are multistep procedures with low overall yields (33—36). For example, the route starting from 2,4,5,6-tetraanainopyrimidine [5392-28-9] (21) gave 6-bromomethylpterin (20) in three steps with an overall yield of only 18% (33,35,36). This synthesis is not economical because the intermediate 6-bromomethyl-2,4-diamino-4-pterin (22) has to be deaminatedin an additional step to form 6-bromomethylpterin (20). 

Oxidative substitutions at ring junction positions in various tetrahydro-5-deaza-pterins (79JA6068) and -flavins (77JA6721) have been studied, e.g. to give (13), and the oxidation-reduction reactions of 5-deazaflavins (e.g. 78CL1177, 80CPB3514) across the 1,5-positions, e.g. (19) (20), are involved in their co-enzymic role in enzymic oxidations (see Section... 

Their physical properties closely resemble those of pterin, which has a basic pKt, of 2.20 and an acidic one of 7.86 associated with N-1 protonation and a hypsochromic shift of the long-wavelength absorption band in the UV spectrum, and N-3 deprotonation effecting a bathochromic shift respectively (Table 4). The xanthopterin (4) and isoxanthopterin types... 

Table 5 Physical Data for 8-Substituted Lumazines and Pterins...

AT-Oxidation is very sensitive to steric effects, since 1-substituted lumazines and pterins give only 5-oxides and the presence of bulky substituents at position 7 also directs oxidation to N-5. The pteridine 5-oxide (52) and 8-oxide (53) and the 5,8-dioxide (55) contain the AT-oxide groups as such, even when the possibility of AT-hydroxy tautomers exists, as in (53) i(54). 

The action of sulfur nucleophiles like sodium bisulfite and thiophenols causes even pteridines that are unreactive towards water or alcohols to undergo covalent addition reactions. Thus, pteridin-7-one smoothly adds the named S-nucleophiles in a 1 1 ratio to C-6 (65JCS6930). Similarly, pteridin-4-one (73) yields adducts (74) in a 2 1 ratio at C-6 and C-7 exclusively (equation 14), as do 4-aminopteridine and lumazine with sodium bisulfite. Xanthopterin forms a 7,8-adduct and 7,8-dihydropterin can easily be converted to sodium 5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin-6-sulfonate (66JCS(C)285), which leads to pterin-6-sulfonic acid on oxidation (59HCA1854). 

Aminopteridine is the most sensitive to acid hydrolysis, and 6-amino- and 6-dimethyl-amino-pteridine are also hydrolyzed, even by cold 0.0IN hydrochloric acid, too rapidly for accurate determination of the cation form (52JCS1620). 2-Amino- and 4-amino-pteridine are not readily attacked by IN HCl at 20 °C but at 100 °C the former compound is destroyed and the latter converted into pteridin-4-one (5UCS474). 2,4-Diaminopteridine can be hydrolyzed by refluxing in 6N HCl for 30 minutes to 2-aminopteridin-4-one (pterin 2) and after... 

Various 6- and 7-methyl- and 6,7-dimethyl-pteridines bearing either oxo or amino groups in the 2- and 4-positions can be oxidized to the corresponding carboxylic acids by alkaline potassium permanganate on heating. Various lumazine and pterin mono- and di-carboxylic acids have been prepared in this way (48JA3026, 78CB3790). 

The a-ionization of 7-methylpteridines can also be utilized in aldol-type condensation reactions. 7-Methyl-pterin and -lumazine and 2,4-diaminopteridine condense readily in aqueous base with aromatic aldehydes to afford 7-alkylidenepteridines (77JOC2951). A Claisen condensation requires the protection of the acidic hydrogens of the amide bonds. 

The high chemical stability of pterins towards aqueous base is due to anion formation suppressing nucleophilic attack at a ring carbon atom by electrostatic repulsion. Substitution... 

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