Microwave-Accelerated Synthesis of Novel Triphosphate Nucleoside Prodrugs: Expanding the Therapeutic Arsenal of Anticancer Agents

In this study, we report for the first time a microwave-accelerated synthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleoside triphosphate prodrugs, whose γ phosphate is masked with an aryloxy moiety and an amino acid ester (γ-ProTriP). The synthetic utility of this method is illustrated by the synthesis of triphosphate prodrugs of clofarabine and gemcitabine, two FDA-approved anticancer drugs. These new prodrugs showed good chemical and rat serum stability. Remarkably the clofarabine prodrug showed significant cytotoxicity against a panel of cancer cell lines.