Synthesis of an acyclic nucleoside analog of highly fluorescent luminarosine

Photoirradiation of 1-{9-[(2-acetoxyethoxy)methyl]-9H-purin-6-yl}-pyridinium chloride (1b) in aqueous solution leads to two photoproducts, namely 1-{5-formamido-6-[(2-acetoxyethoxy)methylamino]pyrimidin-4-yl}pyridinium chloride (2b) and 1-(6-(acetoxymethyl)-5,5a,6,8-tetrahydrooxazolo[4,3-e]purin-4-yl)pyridinium chloride (6), which constitutes a new heterocyclic system. Further, photosensitized irradiation of 2b gave the desired acyclic nucleoside analog of the highly fluorescent luminarosine 3b.