Solution Conformations of Purine(ß)Nucleosides and Analogs

The purinenucleosides and their natural or synthetic analogs are a class of compounds with a broad spectrum of physiological effects. Modification of a single side group at the base or ribose moiety can produce substances with antibiotic, antiviral, or antitumor activity. The biological activity of these analogs can only in part be explained through their different behaviour in the complex purinenucleoside metabolism (1,2). The study of the solution conformations of these derivatives could reveal purely sterical arguments for various modes of biological action of these substances, and might in addition help to understand the complex behaviour of the purinenucleosides in preparative chemistry (3). By application of the rich choice of CW and FTNMR-techniques to this class of compounds the preferred solution conformations can be derived.