The aqueous solution conformation of tubercidin and tubercidin 5'-phosphate

The backbone of tubercidin and tubercidin 5'-phosphate in aqueous solution has a flexible molecular framework with preference for 2E-gg and 2E-gg-g'g' conformations, respectively. The glycosyl bond is unusually flexible and no definite preference for either anti or syn conformation could be detected. It is proposed that the incorporation of tubercidin 5'-phosphate into nucleic acids will disrupt the polymeric structure because of the high accessibility of syn conformation, and this might be related to the reported inhibition of nucleic acid and protein synthesis.