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Synthetic Communications
An International Journal for Rapid Communication of Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Volume 40, 2010 - Issue 8
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Original Articles

Regioselective Bromination of a Thymine–Acridine Conjugate by N-Bromosuccinimide

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Pages 1192-1201 | Received 26 Mar 2009, Published online: 12 Mar 2010
 

Abstract

A thymine and acridine conjugate (1), containing a benzylic carbon of thymine and an electron-rich aromatic ring (acridine) within the same molecule, was synthesized. Treatment of 1 with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in anhydrous chloroform in the presence of azobisisobutylnitrile produced a dibromo-substituted thymine–acridine conjugate (7) as a major product, in which the bromination was only observed on the acridine ring. Nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) difference spectroscopy revealed that the actual bromination substitution was on C-2 and C-7 of acridine. Our results suggest that electrophilic aromatic substitution, not the expected benzylic radical reaction, takes place predominantly even when 1 is subjected to the NBS reaction condition, which favors radical processes. In addition, such selectivity is clearly solvent dependent.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful for support of this research by University of the Pacific and the National Science Foundation (MRI-0722654). We also thank Mr. Matthew Curtis for carrying out the mass spectrometry measurements.

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