Syntheses, molecular structures, and antiviral activities of 1- and 2-(2′-deoxy-d-ribofuranosyl)cyclohepta[d][1,2,3]triazol-6(1H)-ones and 1-(2′-deoxy-d-ribofuranosyl)cyclohepta[b]pyrrol-8(1H)-one

The synthesis of a novel class of 2′-deoxyribonucleosides possessing tropone-fused nitrogen heterocycles as nucleobases was developed. The reaction of alkali metal salts of 1H-cyclohepta[d][1,2,3]triazol-6-one with 2-deoxy-3,5-di-O-(p-toluoyl)-α-d-ribofuranosyl chloride (α-chlorosugar) afforded an anomeric mixture of N1- and N2-coupled glycosylation products. Good stereospecificity in relation to the amount of the β-anomer was achieved in the less polar solvent DME. The reactions of the sodium salt of 1H-cyclohepta[b]pyrrol-8-one and its 3-methyl derivative with an α-chlorosugar in DME gave the β-anomer of the N1-coupled glycosylation products. The glycosylation products were treated with NaOMe in MeOH to produce the desired 2′-deoxyribonucleosides. X-ray structural analyses of the three nucleosides prepared confirmed their anomeric configuration and revealed that their sugars were puckered. The β-anomers of the nucleosides had weak antiviral activities for herpes simplex virus type 1 and herpes simplex virus type 2 in comparison with those of acyclovir (ACV). These nucleosides showed no cytotoxicity on a lung (A549) and two colon (HT-29 and HCT-116) cancer cell lines.