Synthesis and full characterisation of 6-chloro-2-iodopurine, a template for the functionalisation of purines.

A simple and efficient synthesis of 6-chloro-2-iodopurine from hypoxanthine has been achieved. This strategy relied on a regiospecific lithiation/quenching sequence of 6-chloro-9-(tetrahydropyran-2-yl)purine using Harpoon's base and tributyltin chloride. HMBC NMR studies on the product and intermediates confirmed the regioselectivity of this methodology. The molecular structures of the final dihalogenopurine and its 9-protected precursor were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction.