Synthesis of 9-(beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)guanine using whole cells of Escherichia coli.

Synthesis of 9-(beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)guanine (ara-G) from 1-(beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosine (ara-C) and guanine, guanosine or 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG) by glutaraldehyde-treated Escherichia coli BM-11 cells is described. It is shown that the concentration of phosphate ions, molar ratio of substrates and pH of the reaction medium are factors affecting product yield. Under optimum conditions ara-G was produced in the reaction mixture in a yield of 63%-65% based on dG as the best source of guanine base. The yield of isolated ara-G was 48%-53%.