Phosphonated n,o-nucleosides: Synthesis and biological evaluation

The review offers an overview on the synthesis of phosphonated N,O-nucleosides, a new class of interesting, potential antiviral/ antitumor agents. The main synthetic method exploit a 1,3- dipolar cycloaddition reaction as key step. The cycloaddition process involves the use of phosphonated nitrones, or nitrones containing functional groups easily convertible into phosphonated group. Biological assays are presented, which show that phosphonated N,O-nucleosides represent a new promising template of nucleoside analogues.