Facile synthesis of 2′-O-cyanoethyluridine by ring-opening reaction of 2,2′-anhydrouridine with cyanoethyl trimethylsilyl ether in the presence of BF3·Et2O
In this Letter, a facile method for the synthesis of 2′-O-cyanoethyluridine, which is a key intermediate in the synthesis of fully and partially 2′-O-cyanoethylated oligoribonucleotides as well as unmodified oligoribonucleotides, was developed by the ring-opening reaction of 2,2′-anhydrouridine with 2-cyanoethyl trimethylsilyl ether in the presence of BF3·Et2O in dimethylacetamide. The 2′-O-cyanoethyluridine