Reactions of 2-acyloxyisobutyryl halides with nucleosides. Synthesis and biological evaluation of some 3"-acyl and 3',5'-diacyl derivatives of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine.

Previous papers in this series have described efficient syntheses of 3'-O-acyl and 3',5'-di-O-acyl and 3',5'-di-O-acyl derivatives of 2,2'-anhydro-1-(beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosine hydrochloride (1,3). It has now been shown that the 2,2'-anhydro linkage in 1 and 3 can be selectively and efficiently cleaved by treatment with a mixture of pyridine and methanol giving the corresponding 3'-O-acyl derivatives of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (2,4). The selective hydrolysis of the more soluble derivatives can also be achieved using either aqueous pyridine or a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate in aqueous dioxane. Using the above procedures 3'-O-acyl araCs and 3',5'-di-O-acyl araCs with saturated or unsaturated ester groups containg from 2 to 22 carbon atoms have been prepared, and these substances have been evaluated for cytotoxicity and antiviral activity in tissue culture and for antitumor activity these substances have been evaluated for cytotoxicity and antiviral activity in tissue culture and for antitumor activity against L1210 leukemia in mice. Many of the compounds show high anti-L1210 activity relative to araC itself.