Synthesis and in vivo antitumor activity of potential 5-fluorouracil prodrugs

An efficient synthesis of 3-fluoro-5-thio-xylofuranosyl nucleosides of thymine, uracil, and 5-fluorouracil as potential antitumor or/and antiviral agents

1,2:5,6-Di-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-glucofuranose by the sequence of mild oxidation, reduction, fluorination, periodate oxidation, borohydride reduction, and sulfonylation gave 3-deoxy-3-fluoro-1,2-O-isopropylidene-5-O-p-toluenesulfonyl-alpha-D-xylofuranose (5). Tosylate 5 was converted to thioacetate derivative 6, which after acetolysis gave 1,2-di-O-acetyl-5-S-acetyl-3-deoxy-3-fluoro-5-thio-D-xylofuranose (7). Condensation of 7 with silylated thymine, uracil, and 5-fluorouracil afforded nucleosides 1-(5-S-acetyl-3-deoxy-3-fluoro-5-thio-beta-D-xylofuranosyl) thymine (8), 1-(5-S-acetyl-3-deoxy-3-fluoro-5-thio-beta-D-xylofuranosyl) uracil (9), and 1-(5-S-acetyl-3-deoxy-3-fluoro-5-thio-beta-D-xylofuranosyl) 5-fluorouracil (10). Compounds 8, 9, and 10 are biologically active against rotavirus infection and the growth of tumor cells.

Direct oxidation of sugar nucleotides to the corresponding uronic acids: TEMPO and platinum-based procedures

The direct oxidation of UDP-alpha-d-glucose and UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-d-glucosamine to the corresponding uronic acids was explored using either TEMPO or platinum-catalysed oxidation with molecular oxygen. Whilst TEMPO-based procedures gave rise to substantial over-oxidation and/or degradation of UDP-glucose, oxidation of UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine to UDP-N-acetyl-glucosaminuronic acid was achieved with >90% conversion and ca. 65% isolated yield using a platinum-catalysed procedure.

Synthesis and biological activity of the new 5-fluorocytosine derivatives, 5'-deoxy-N-alkyloxycarbonyl-5-fluorocytosine-5'-carboxylic acid

A series of 5-fluorocytosine derivatives, 5'-deoxy-N-alkyloxycarbonyl-5-fluorocytosine-5'-carboxylic acid 6, were synthesized and evaluated for their antitumor activity.

The effect of structural modifications of 5-fluorouracil derivatives on their transport and biodegradation by isolated rat jejunum

The continuous-perfusion technique was used in an isolated segment of everted rat jejunum to study transport and biotransformation processes in a series of cancerostatic derivatives of 5-fluorouracil. Metabolic alterations during penetration of the intestinal wall were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Octanol-buffer partition coefficients were measured, and the lipophilicity of the study compounds and fragmental constants for their sugar moieties were assessed. In the present series of 5-fluorouracil derivatives, there was no correlation between lipophilicity and metabolic cleavage to 5-fluorouracil, but a correlation was found between lipophilicity and the transport rate. Remarkable stability of the nucleoside bond and high biotransport were observed with 5'-chloro-5-fluorouridine, suggesting a different mode of activation for this derivative.

Nucleoside conjugates. 8. The preparation of 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine conjugates of corticosteroids

Three 5'-(steroid-21-phosphoryl)-5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridines (VI-VIII) have been prepared and characterized by uv, ir, 1H-nmr, elemental analysis, chemical and enzymatic hydrolyses. These new compounds are 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine conjugates of cortisol (VI), cortico-sterone (VII), and prednisolone (VIII). Besides the physical and analytical data, all of the conjugates were demonstrated to be enzymatically hydrolyzed to the corresponding steroid and 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine 5'-monophosphate (III), and the latter was further shown to be hydrolyzed to 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (II) by phosphodiesterase I, 5'-nucleotidase, and acid phosphatase. However, they were shown to be resistant to hydrolysis by bacterial alkaline phosphatase.