Studies on organic fluorine compounds. Part 35. Trifluoromethylation of pyrimidine- and purine-nucleosides with trifluoromethyl–copper complex

Abstract

Halogenated nucleoside derivatives were trifluoromethylated using a solution of a trifluoromethyl–copper complex, which was prepared by shaking trifluoromethyl iodide and copper powder in hexamethylphosphoric triamide and filtering off the excess of copper powder. The following trifluoromethylated nucleosides were obtained in moderate to good yields: 5-trifluoromethyl-uridine, -deoxyuridine, -cytidine, -deoxycytidine, and -arabinosylcytosine; 8-trifluoromethyl-adenosine, -deoxyadenosine, and -inosine; and 6-trifluoromethylribofuranosylpurine. This procedure offers simple synthesis of many trifluoromethyl compounds.