Use of Pd-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction in the rapid synthesis of 5-aryl-6-(phosphonomethoxy)uracils and evaluation of their inhibitory effect towards human thymidine phosphorylase

A number of new 5-aryl substituted pyrimidine acyclic nucleoside phosphonates were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit human TP. Their rapid synthesis using Pd-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions of various arylboronic acids with 5-bromo-4-(phosphonomethoxy)-2,6-dibutoxypyrimidine was successfully applied. For a series of 5-aryl-6-phosphonomethoxyuracils, an increased inhibitory effect was determined. This effect is supported by the results found for 4-fluorophenyl (KidThd=4.89±0.62) and 3-nitrophenyl (KidThd=3.98±0.46) substituents.