Pyrimidines from pteridines

Pyrimidines from pteridines and related fused systems... 

Most pteridines are degraded to pyrazines and when they do yield pyrimidines, these may well be the ones from which they were made. However, some useful preparations of pyrimidines from pteridines are known. Thus, reduction of pteridin-7(8//)-one (732) and subsequent hydrolysis yields N-(4-aminopyrimidin-5-yl)glycine (733) (52JCS1620) and hydrolysis of 5,8-dimethylpteridine-6,7(5Ff,8Ff)-dione (734) gives dimethyl-... 

This covalent hydration20-22 due to the highly polarized nature of the pteridine nucleus, also occurs in pyrimidines, and in other 7r-deficieiit heterocyclic systems. This phenomenon has a profound effect on the ionization characteristics of pteridines, and explains why pteridine shows acidic properties on titration with base pKa 11.21) and shows a basic ionization with pKa 4.79.23 The 3,4-hydrated cation 8 initially formed from pteridine in acid slowly equilibrates with the 5,6,7,8-dihydrated cation 9.24... 

As indicated above, derivatives of folic acid play a key role in the biosynthesis of purines and pyrimidines. These pteridines are the coenzymes responsible for inserting the carbon atoms into both positions 2 and 8 of purines, and they also insert the methyl-group into thymine (4.7 ). When bacteria are treated with low concentrations of sulfonamides, 4-aminoimidazole-5-carboxamide ribotide 9.22) accumulates in the culture media. This substance is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of inosinic acid 9.23) from which all purines are derived. 

The reaction of 6-amino-5-(l,2-diethoxycarbonylhydrazino)pyrimidines with enamines represents another convenient method for the preparation of pteridines. Fusion of 5-(l,2-diethoxycarbonylhydrazino)-2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine (281) with an excess of mor-pholinocyclohexene leads to 2,4-diaminotetrahydrobenzo[g]pteridine, and with the morpholinoenamine (282) from 17/3-hydroxy-5a-androstan-3-one regioselective condensation to the fused pteridine (283) takes place in almost quantitative yield (equation 101) (71CC83). 6-Amino-5-nitroso- and 6-amino-5-phenylazo-pyrimidines react similarly, imitating the Timmis-type reaction (72CPB1428). 

The only antimalarial drugs whose mechanisms of action are reasonably well understood are the drugs that inhibit the parasite s ability to synthesize folic acid. Parasites cannot use preformed folic acid and therefore must synthesize this compound from the following precursors obtained from their host p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), pteridine, and glutamic acid. The dihydrofolic acid formed from these precursors must then be hydrogenated to form tetrahydrofoUc acid. The latter compound is the coenzyme that acts as an acceptor of a variety of one-carbon units. The transfer of one-carbon units is important in the synthesis of the pyrimidines and purines, which are essential in nucleic acid synthesis. 

In modern medicinal chemistry, the creation of diversity on a structural framework is important. In principle, diversity at positions 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 of pteridines can be achieved using such solid-phase chemistry. This prototype solid-phase synthesis involved nitrosation of the resin-bound pyrimidine, reduction of nitroso group with sodium dithionite, and subsequent cyclization with biacetyl to afford pteridines 114 and 115. Cleavage from the resin by nucleophilic substitution of the oxidized sulfur linker using w-chloroperbenzoic acid or DMDO led to the pteridine products 116 and 117 (Scheme 23). 

The one-step synthesis of further tri- and tetracyclic pteridine derivatives from 2-aminopyrazine 153 has also been described <2001JHC1173>. Cyclic analogues of A -[bis(methylthio)methylene]amino reagents such as 2-(methylthio)-2-thiazoline, 5,6-dihydro-2-(methylthio)-4//-l,3-thiazine, 2-(methylthio)-2-imidazoline, 2-(methylthio)-l,4,5,6-tetrahydro-pyrimidine, 2-(methylthio)-2-pyrazine, and 2-chloropyrimidine reacted with aminopyrazine 153 to afford thiazolo/thia-zino[2,3-3]- 159 ( = 1 (53%), n = 2 (42%)), imidazo/pyrimidino[2,l-/ ]- 160 ( = 1 (53%), = 2 (57%)), pyrazino[2,l-/ ]-161 (21%), and pyrimido[2,l-/ ]-pteridine 162 (42%) derivatives, respectively. 

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