A series of 5-substituted 1-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosines 7a-d and their corresponding uracils 9a-d,f were prepared by condensation of 3-O-acetyl-5-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-arabinosyl bromide (5) with appropriately trimethylsilylated pyrimidines followed by saponification of the protected nucleosides 6 or 8. 1-(2-Deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-iodocytosine (7e) was obtained by iodination of 7a. Iodination of 8a followed by removal of the protecting acyl-protecting groups afforded the 5-iodo nucleoside 9e. Several of these 2'-fluoro-substituted nucleosides completely obviated replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in monolayers of Vero cells at concentrations of 10-100 microgram/mL. The 5-iodocytosine analogue 7e was the most effective, showing 99.5% suppression of viral replication even at concentrations of 0.1 microgram/mL. The cytotoxicity of 7e to L5178Y or P815 cells in culture was minimal. A comparison of the efficacy of 7e against HSV-1 with other known nucleoside antiviral agents indicates that further in vitro and in vivo evaluation of 7e is warranted.
Synthesis of 1-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)uracils containing a vinyl (4a), 2-halovinyl (4b-d), or ethyl substituent at C-5 was achieved. These nucleosides were found to be about a log order less active than 2'-fluoro-5-iodo-ara-C (FIAC) against HSV-1, but they are much less cytotoxic against normal human lymphocytes than FIAC. Nucleosides 4a and 4e showed good activity against HSV-1 (ED50 = 0.16 and 0.24 microM, respectively) and HSV-2 (ED50 = 0.69 and 0.65 microM) with very little cytotoxicity (ID50 greater than 100 microM).
Compound 8 was isolated as a coproduct with 7 in the reduction and subsequent dehydration of 3c. This product was isolated from the slower moving zone in the preparative thin-layer chromatographic separation: 16 mg (oil);
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