Enzymatic Synthesis of 2′,5′-Dideoxv Purine Nucleosides and Related Compounds

A wide range of 2′,5′-dideoxy-nucleosides, including 6- substituted purine, pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine and 1-deazapurine derivatives, has been enzymatically prepared using purine nucleoside phosphorylase. Specificity towards cleavage by bacterial versus mammalian purine nucleoside phosphorylase was evaluated.