Synthesis and antiviral evaluation of the beta-L-enantiomers of some thymine 3'-deoxypentofuranonucleoside derivatives

Advances in Therapeutic L-Nucleosides and L-Nucleic Acids with Unusual Handedness

Nucleic-acid-based small molecule and oligonucleotide therapies are attractive topics due to their potential for effective target of disease-related modules and specific control of disease gene expression. As the non-naturally occurring biomolecules, modified DNA/RNA nucleoside and oligonucleotide analogues composed of L-(deoxy)riboses, have been designed and applied as innovative therapeutics with superior plasma stability, weakened cytotoxicity, and inexistent immunogenicity. Although all the chiral centers in the backbone are mirror converted from the natural D-nucleic acids, L-nucleic acids are equipped with the same nucleobases (A, G, C and U or T), which are critical to maintain the programmability and form adaptable tertiary structures for target binding. The types of L-nucleic acid drugs are increasingly varied, from chemically modified nucleoside analogues that interact with pathogenic polymerases to nanoparticles containing hundreds of repeating L-nucleotides that circulate durably in vivo. This article mainly reviews three different aspects of L-nucleic acid therapies, including pharmacological L-nucleosides, Spiegelmers as specific target-binding aptamers, and L-nanostructures as effective drug-delivery devices.

Synthesis of chiral pyrimidine-substituted diester D-A cyclopropanes via asymmetric cyclopropanation of phenyliodonium ylides

A highly enantioselective cyclopropanation to synthesize pyrimidine-substituted diester D-A cyclopropanes is reported. Various N1-vinylpyrimidines react well with phenyliodonium ylides, delivering chiral cyclopropanes in up to 97% yield with up to 99% ee. Through simple [3+2] annulation with benzaldehyde or ethyl glyoxylate, different chiral pyrimidine nucleoside analogues with a sugar ring could be obtained.