Solid-phase synthesis of nucleoside analogues.

The synthesis of a 25 000 member library of nucleoside analogues as discrete compounds in milligram quantities is described. The use of the Nanokan technology developed by IRORI (Discovery Partners International) together with macroporous solid support allowed us to develop a highly reliable and practical synthetic route for the high-throughput derivatization of both the pyrimidine and purine nucleoside scaffold. A 2',3'-acetal linkage of the scaffolds to the solid support proved to be stable enough for the chemical transformations employed, yet labile enough for mild cleavage conditions to yield final products in high purity. The publication represents an example for combining synthetic organic chemistry on advanced scaffolds with the latest technologies of combinatorial chemistry in order to provide both industrial and academic institutions with compounds in high number and quality, thereby accelerating the search for novel biological targets and drug development.