A new synthesis of 5-hydroxy-6-methyluracil

Dehydration of 5,6-dihydro-5,6-dihydroxy-6-methyl- and 5,6-dihydro-5,6-dihydroxy-1,3,6-trimethyl-uracil in 0.4 M aqueous sulfuric acid gives 5-hydroxy-6-methyl- and 5-hydroxy-1,3,6-trimethyluracil in quantitative yields. Two possible mechanisms have been examined using the mPW1k/6-311+G(2df,2pd)//mPW1k/6-31+G(d,p) method for the transformation of methylated and non-methylated 5,6-dihydro-5,6-dihydroxy-6-methyluracils into the corresponding 5-hydroxy-6-methyluracils. The first is a hydride C5–C6 shift occurring in concert with the loss of a water molecule and formation of the corresponding protonated 5,6-dihydro-5-oxo-6-methyluracils. The second is an acid-catalyzed dehydration reaction to yield 5-hydroxy-6-methyluracils. The calculations demonstrated that the second pathway was energetically most favorable.