1.2.4- Triazines 6-azauracils

According to the triazine nomenclature, 5-azauracil is 2,4-dioxo-l,2,3,4-tetrahydro-l,3,5-triazine (2). The subject index of Chemical Abstracts prefers s-triazine-2,4(lH,3H)-dione. Furthermore, some authors use a name derived from the lactim structure, 2,4-dihydroxy-s-triazine (3). The numbering of the substituents is the same for all these types of nomenclature. 

The common method of preparation of 6-alkyl-2,4-dioxotetrahydro-triazines is the cyclization of acyl-biurets by aqueous hydroxide. Formyl biuret which should by analogy 3deld 5-azauracil had not been known until recently. Its transient formation can be expected during further synthesis of 5-azauracil. Piskala and GuP achieved... 

Works on the oxidation of uric acid has unequivocally established the triazine structure > ° (9) of oxonic acid. This is further confirmed by the straightforward synthesis described by Piskala and Gut. ° The reaction of biuret (11) with potassium ethyloxalate yielded a potassium salt (24), that with ethyl oxamate, the amide of oxonic acid (25). Both these compounds were converted to 5-azauracil. An analogous reaction with diethyloxalate which should produce an ester of oxonic acid resulted in a mixture of urethane and parabanic acid, however. 

Other derivatives of s-triazine, in particular the 2,4-disubstituted ones, are usually prepared by total synthesis and are therefore not closely linked with the chemistry of 5-azauracil unlike the analogous derivatives of 1,2,4-triazine. 2,4-Dimethoxy-l,3,5-triazine was mentioned earlier (e.g., Section II,A,2,a), the other substances are not related to the present subject. 

According to systematic triazine nomenclature, 6-azauracil is 3,5-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1,2,4-triazine (42). The indexes of the Chemical Abstracts describe it as as-triazine-3,5(2H,4H)-dione. In addition ... 

The chemistry of the 6-aza analogs of pyrimidine bases which has been developed from the biochemical aspect since about 1956 was based on work reported in relatively numerous older papers. In spite of the fact that 6-azauracil was prepared only in 1947 and suitable syntheses were described only quite recently, substances of this type and methods of their preparation had been known for a long time. The chemistry of 6-aza analogs of pyrimidine bases is therefore relatively closely linked with the chemistry of the 1,2,4-triazine derivatives. 

In this connection the possibility of oxidation of these substances to the tetrahydro derivatives should be mentioned. It was made use of by Thiele and Bailey for the preparation of 6-methyl-3,5-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-l,2,4-triazine (6-azathymine) (46) and only recently by Grundman et al. for that of 6-azauracil (42). 

In a further synthesis, Gut ° used the cyclization of the thiosemi-carbazone of glyoxylic acid (56) the 2-thioxo-5-oxo-2,3,4,6-tetra-hydro-l,2,4-triazine (57) formed was converted to 6-azauracil by applying aqueous solution of chloroacetic acid. (This reaction will be discussed later, e.g.. Section II,B,4,b.) The same procedure was used... 

The preparation of W-alkyl derivatives of 6-benzyl-3,5-dioxo-l,2,4-triazine by hydrolysis of the corresponding alkylmercapto derivatives was systematically studied by Cattelain. The conversion to known alkyl derivatives of dioxotriazines was used to determine the structure of alkylated methylmercapto derivatives. As will be shown later (e.g., Section H,B,4,b) this procedure has a general preparative significance for 1-alkyl derivatives of 6-azauracil. ... 

By comparing the dissociation constant of 6-azauracil and 6-aza-uridine with those or uracil and uridine, 6-azauridine is now considered to be 1-ribofuranosyl derivative (2-ribofuranosyl-3,5-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-l,2,4-triazine), The same was shown more exactly by comparing the UV and IR spectra and the dissociation constants of 6-azauridine with the two monomethyl derivatives of 6-aza-uracil," Enzymatic synthesis thus, proceeds, in the same way in natural bases and in their aza analogs. 

Thioxo-3-oxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-l,2,4-triazine (4-thio-6-azauracil) (88) and 3,5-dithioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-l,2,4-triazine (2,4-dithio-6-azauracil) (89) w ere prepared by Hitchings et al. treating 6-aza-... 

In agreement with the results of Cattelain, further methylation of the 3-methylmercapto derivative (96) results practically exclusively in 2-methyl-3-methylmercapto-5-oxo-2,5-dihydro-l,2,4-triazine (97). Further methylation of 5-methylmercapto derivative (90) yields 2-methyl-5-methylmercapto-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-l,2,4-triazine (100). Their structure was confirmed by acid hydrolysis leading to 2-methyl-3,5-dioxo derivatives (62), As was already mentioned, this reaction is a suitable general procedure for preparing the 1-alkyl derivatives of 6-azauracil. ... 

It was found already by Cattelain that the 3-thioxo derivatives behave as monobasic acids that can be titrated on phenolphthalein and he considered them as more acid than the analogous 3,5-dioxo-triazines. This assumption was recently confirmed by determining the dissociation constants. Just as with 6-azauracil, it was possible to demonstrate, by comparing the dissociation constants of the V-methyl derivatives of all the thioxo analogs, that with the 3-thioxo compounds too, dissociation proceeds first at the NH group in position 3 122... 

Direct bromination readily yields the 6-bromo derivative (111), just as with uracil. Analogous chlorination and iodination requires the presence of alkalies and even then proceeds in low yield. The 6-chloro derivative (113) was also obtained by partial hydrolysis of the postulated 3,5,6-trichloro-l,2,4-triazine (e.g.. Section II,B,6). The 6-bromo derivative (5-bromo-6-azauracil) served as the starting substance for several other derivatives. It was converted to the amino derivative (114) by ammonium acetate which, by means of sodium nitrite in hydrochloric acid, yielded a mixture of 6-chloro and 6-hydroxy derivatives. A modified Schiemann reaction was not suitable for preparing the 6-fluoro derivative. The 6-hydroxy derivative (115) (an isomer of cyanuric acid and the most acidic substance of this group, pKa — 2.95) was more conveniently prepared by alkaline hydrolysis of the 6-amino derivative. Further the bromo derivative was reacted with ethanolamine to prepare the 6-(2-hydroxyethyl) derivative however, this could not be converted to the corresponding 2-chloroethyl derivative. Similarly, the dimethylamino, morpholino, and hydrazino derivatives were prepared from the 6-bromo com-pound. ... 

It may be said in conclusion that the reactivity of position 5 (i.e., 6 of the triazine ring) is similar to that of uracil. The only difference seems to be in the failure to prepare 5-nitro-6-azauracil although this reaction proceeds readily with uracil. 

On reaction with aged phosphoroxychloride, 6-azauracil formed 3,5-dichlorotriazine (117) in only a 10% yield. " A somewhat higher yield (30%) was obtained from the reaction of 6-bromodioxotriazine which gave 3,5,6-trichloro-l,2,4-triazine. Similar reactions take place much more readily with uracil and in better yield. " Thus,... 

Trichloro-l,2,4-triazine was reacted with menthanol and subsequently crystallized from w ater to yield 5-chloro-6-azauracil. A chloro-dimethoxy derivative appears to be an intermediate product, this being further cleaved by hydrogen chloride. No 2,4-dimethoxy derivatives have been prepared so far. 

Oxidation of the hexahydro to tetrahydro derivatives was mentioned in connection with the synthesis of 3,5-dioxo-l,2,4-triazines (e.g., Section II,B,2,a). The reverse procedure, hydrogenation of the tetrahydro derivatives, was used with 6-azauracil, 6-azathymine, and their iV-methyl derivatives. With all these compounds hydrogenation proceeds smoothly in the presence of Adams catalyst. Only the hydrogenation of l-methyl-6-azathymine was not successful. ... 

Dioxohexahydro-l,2,4-triazine (dihydro-6-azauracil) (128) yields a diacetyl derivative (129) which is relatively stable toward hydrolysis. The acetylation of the iV-methyl derivatives and the course of the reaction with diazomethane indicates that acetylation takes place here in positions 1 and 2 ... 

In a preliminary communication, the dihydroxy-1,2,4-triazine derivative 163 has been assigned the structure shown on the basis of infrared evidence. The pK and ultraviolet and infrared spectral data support the formulation of 6-azauracil (164) as a dioxo compound. 

Further compounds for which X-ray crystallographic analyses have been published are 5[2-(dimethylamino)propenyl]-6-methyl-3-phenyl-1,2,4-triazine (11) (73LA1970), 1,2,4-triazine-3,5-dione (6-azauracil 12) (74AX(B)1430>, 6-methyl-l,2,4-triazine-3,5-dione (6-azathymidine 13) (75AX(B)2519>, 2-0S-D-ribofuranosyl)-l,2,4-triazine-3.5-dione... 

The structures of 5-azacytosine and related compounds are of interest because of their biological importance (see Section 2.20.5.6). l-Methyl-5-azacytosine exists in the amino-oxo form (23). 5-Azauracil (l,3,5-triazine-2,4-dione) is of particular interest. IR spectra indicate that it exists in the dioxo form in the solid, but H NMR studies have been interpreted to show that it exists in the monoenolic form in solution. The spectra showed a non-exchange-able sharp singlet at 8.18 8 (H, 24) (760MR(8)224). Derivatives of 5-azacytosine and 5-azauracil are covalently hydrated. Thus 5-azauridine exists entirely in the crystal form as (25) (76MI22000, p.l39>. 

Azauracil [1,2,4-triazine-3,5(2,4)-dione] inhibits the growth of various micro-organisms. When grown in the presence of 6-azauracil- -C, Streptococcus jaecalis accumulates radioactive metabolites in the acid-soluble fraction of the cells. A major metabolite is D-ribofuranosyl-6-aza-uracil. This material is identical with material prepared by condensing tri-O-benzoyl-D-ribofuranosyl chloride with the mercuric derivative of 6-azauracil, followed by debenzoylation. A second major metaboUte was tentatively shown to be D-ribosyl-6-azauracil 5-phosphate. Bacteria develop resistance against 6-azauracil and its D-ribosyl derivative. Resistant Streptococcus faecalis will not convert 6-azauracil to its D-ribosyl derivative or to other bound forms, and the bacterium has also lost the ability to incorporate uracil into the nucleic acids of its cells. 

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