Uracil acid -5-

Cone, of Amino acids and nucleic acid bases (X lO" M) Glycine Alanine Serine Aspartic Cytosine Uracil acid ... 

It is the parent substance of a group of compounds which includes cytosine, thymine and uracil, which are constituents of nucleic acids and barbituric acid and its derivatives, which are important medicinally. 

C4H4N2O2. Colourless crystalline powder, turning brown at 280 C and melting at 338 C (decomp.). Uracil is a constituent of ribose nucleic acid. Used as a diuretic and derivatives have pharmaceutical importance. 5-Fluorouracil is used in cancer treatment. 

Supplement 1936 3458-3793 Picrolonic acid, 51. Hydantoin, 242. Uracil, 312. Indigo, 416. Barbituric j acid, 467. Alloxan, 500. ... 

Any one nucleotide, the basic building block of a nucleic acid, is derived from a molecule of phosphoric acid, a molecule of a sugar (either deoxyribose or ribose), and a molecule of one of five nitrogen compounds (bases) cytosine (C), thymine (T), adenine (A), guanine (G), uracil (U). 

Reaction of / fZ-amyl alcohol with urea in the presence of sulfuric acid gives a monoalkylated urea (61,62). Monoalkyl ureas are used to prepare uracil derivatives which are useful as herbicides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators (61). 

Synthetic chemical approaches to the preparation of carbon-14 labeled materials iavolve a number of basic building blocks prepared from barium [ CJ-carbonate (2). These are carbon [ C]-dioxide [ CJ-acetjlene [U— C]-ben2ene, where U = uniformly labeled [1- and 2- C]-sodium acetate, [ C]-methyl iodide, [ C]-methanol, sodium [ C]-cyanide, and [ CJ-urea. Many compHcated radiotracers are synthesized from these materials. Some examples are [l- C]-8,ll,14-eicosatrienoic acid [3435-80-1] inoxn. [ CJ-carbon dioxide, [ting-U— C]-phenyhsothiocyanate [77590-93-3] ftom [ " CJ-acetjlene, [7- " C]-norepinephrine [18155-53-8] from [l- " C]-acetic acid, [4- " C]-cholesterol [1976-77-8] from [ " CJ-methyl iodide, [l- " C]-glucose [4005-41-8] from sodium [ " C]-cyanide, and [2- " C]-uracil [626-07-3] [27017-27-2] from [ " C]-urea. All syntheses of the basic radioactive building blocks have been described (4). 

Later, a completely different and more convenient synthesis of riboflavin and analogues was developed (34). It consists of the nitrosative cyclization of 6-(A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdino)uracil (18), obtained from the condensation of A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdine (11) and 6-chlorouracil (19), with excess sodium nitrite in acetic acid, or the cyclization of (18) with potassium nitrate in acetic in the presence of sulfuric acid, to give riboflavin-5-oxide (20) in high yield. Reduction with sodium dithionite gives (1). In another synthesis, 5-nitro-6-(A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdino) uracil (21), prepared in situ from the condensation of 6-chloro-5-nitrouracil (22) with A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdine (11), was hydrogenated over palladium on charcoal in acetic acid. The filtrate included 5-amino-6-(A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdino)uracil (23) and was maintained at room temperature to precipitate (1) by autoxidation (35). These two pathways are suitable for the preparation of riboflavin analogues possessing several substituents (Fig. 4). 

The sugars are typically ribose (ribonucleic acids, RNA), or 2-deoxyribose (deoxyribonucleic acids, DNA). There are five common bases in nucleic acids adenine (A) thymine (T) uracil (U) cytosine (C) and guanine (G). DNA polymers incorporate the four bases. A, T, C, and G, and RNA, the set A, U, C, and G. 

The direct formation of dipyrimidin-5-yl sulfides occurs on treatment of appropriate 5-unsubstituted pyrimidine substrates with sulfur mono- or di-chloride. Thus, reaction of uracil (83 R = H) with sulfur monochloride in boiling formic acid gives diuracil-5-yl sulfide in good yield sulfur dichloride gives a poor yield. Simple derivatives of uracil and barbituric acid undergo similar reactions but not cytosine, isocytosine, 2,4-bismethylthiopyrimidine or pyrimidine-4,6-dione (59). The mechanism is unknown (72AJC2275). 

The phenomenon of 5-hydroxymethylation is a standard case of electrophilic attack. Thus uracil (83 R = H) and paraformaldehyde in aqueous alkali furnish 5-hydroj(ymethyl-pyrimidine-2,4(l//,3//)-dione (83 R = CH20H) in good yield (59JA2521). Aromatic aldehydes react differentiy to yield 5-benzylidene derivatives of, for example, 1-methylbar-bituric acid (78CC764). 

As mentioned above (Section 2.13.2.1.3), bipyrimidine photoproducts can arise, probably by reaction between two radicals. Thus, irradiation of an aqueous solution of 5-bromouracil (ill R=Br) in the absence of oxygen produces a variety of products including uracil, barbituric acid, 5-carboxyuracil (111 R = CO2H), several non-pyrimidine compounds and, as a stable end-product, the biuracil (114 R = H). A similar product (114 R = Me) is formed from 5-bromo-l,3-dimethyluracil (ilS). When two such related uracil derivatives are irradiated together, a mixed bipyrimidine product is formed, inter alia (B-76MI21302). 

The best direct synthetic route to uracil is probably the classical procedure from malic acid and urea in concentrated sulfuric acid (26JA2379), despite efforts to use maleic acid, urea and polyphosphoric acid (71S154) or propiolic acid, urea and a little concentrated sulfuric acid (77JOC2185) to achieve the same result. However, the most convenient source (apart from purchase) is to convert 2-thiouracil (937 X = S) into uracil by boiling with aqueous chloroacetic acid (52MI21300) or perhaps by oxidation with DMSO in strong sulfuric acid (74S491). 

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