Prehydrated One-Electron Attachment to Azido-Modified Pentofuranoses: Aminyl Radical Formation, Rapid H-Atom Transfer, and Subsequent Ring Opening.

Methyl 2-azido-2-deoxy-α-d-lyxofuranoside (1a) and methyl 2-azido-2-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranoside (2) were prepared from d-xylose or d-arabinose, respectively. Employing ESR and DFT/B3LYP/6-31G* calculations, we investigated (i) aminyl radical (RNH·) formation and (ii) reaction pathways of RNH·. Prehydrated electron attachment to 1a and 2 at 77 K produced transient azide anion radical (RN·) which reacts via rapid N loss at 77 K, forming nitrene anion radical (RN·). Rapid protonation of RN· at 77 K formed RNH· and OH. N-labeled-1a confirmed this mechanism. Investigations employing in-house synthesized site-specifically deuterated derivatives of 1a (e.g., CH (1b), C4 (1c), and C5 (1d)) established that (a) a facile intramolecular H atom transfer from C5 to RNH· generated C5· and RNH. C5· formation had a small deuterium kinetic isotope effect suggesting that this reaction does not occur via direct H atom abstraction. (b) Subsequently, C5· underwent a facile unimolecular conversion to ring-opened C4·. Identification of ring-opened C4· intermediate confirms the mechanism of C5'· mediated unaltered base release associated with DNA-strand break. However, for 2, ESR studies established thermally activated intermolecular H atom abstraction by RNH· from the methyl group at C1. Thus, sugar ring configuration strongly influences the site and pathway of RNH· mediated reactions in pentofuranoses.