Base liberation from nucleotides by superoxide and intramolecular enhancement effect of phosphate group

The reaction of nucleotides with superoxide gave the corresponding nucleobases in good yield. The base-release reaction of nucleotides due to superoxide was examined and compared to that of nucleosides. Hence, the phosphate moiety greatly enhances the yields, in particular those of adenine from adenosine monophosphates. Superoxide in combination with the phosphate moiety has been revealed to be more active than superoxide alone. The phosphate peroxy radical, generated in situ from superoxide and phosphate, seems to be the species responsible for the formation of the free bases.