Synthesis of 2'-deoxyguanosine from 2'-deoxyadenosine via C2 nitration

An efficient synthetic method has been developed for the synthesis of 2'-deoxyguanosine from the more commercially available 2'-deoxyadenosine via late-stage C2 nitration in 48.7% total yield by a 5-step synthetic procedure. Crucially, 2'-deoxyadenosine was fully protected by bennzoyl groups and then nitrated at C2 by tetrabutylammonium nitrate/trifluoroacetic anhydride. The resulting 2-NO₂ moiety was converted into 2-NH₂ by Ni-catalyzed hydrogenolysis. Finally, 2'-deoxyguanosine was obtained from the diaminopurine intermediate by deaminase-catalyzed reaction. Furthermore, the 2-NO₂ moiety also appeared to be a versatile handle to introduce a variety of functional groups, resulting in a divergent access to 2-substituted 2'-deoxyadenosine analogues.