Investigation of Enzyme Mechanisms with Nucleoside Phosphorothioates

Abstract

Abstract Nucleoside phosphorothioates are modified nucleotides in which an oxygen atom bound to a phosphorus atom has been replaced by a sulfur atom. These compounds are suitable for the investigation of enzyme mechanisms because, although they are bound by enzymes in many cases just as well as the natural substrate, the enzymatic reactions very often proceed considerably more slowly. Since nucleoside thiophosphate O ‐esters exist as diastereomers these compounds can be used in suitable cases for information about the stereochemistry of enzymatic reactions.