Quantification of isomeric equilibria formed by metal ion complexes of 8-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]-8-azaadenine (8,8aPMEA) and 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]-8-azaadenine (9,8aPMEA). Derivatives of the antiviral nucleotide analogue 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]adenine (PMEA).

The acidity constants of the two-fold protonated acyclic 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]-8-azaadenine, H2(9,8aPMEA)(+)(-), and its 8-isomer, 8-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]-8-azaadenine, H2(8,8aPMEA)(+)(-), both abbreviated as H2(PA)(+)(-), as well as the stability constants of their M(H;PA)+ and M(PA) complexes with the metal ions M2+=Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ or Cd2+, have been determined by potentiometric pH titrations in aqueous solution at I=0.1 M (NaNO3) and 25 degrees C. Application of previously determined straight-line plots of log K(M)M(R-PO3) versus pK(H)H(R-PO3)for simple phosph(on)ate ligands, R-PO3(2-), where R represents a residue without an affinity for metal ions, proves that for all M(PA) complexes a larger stability is observed than is expected for a sole phosphonate coordination of the metal ion. This increased stability is attributed to the formation of five-membered chelates involving the ether oxygen present in the aliphatic residue (-CH2-O-CH2-PO3(2-)) of the ligands. The formation degrees of these chelates were calculated; they vary between about 13% for Ca(8,8aPMEA) and 71% for Cu(8,8aPMEA). The adenine residue has no influence on complex stability except in the Cu(9,8aPMEA) and Zn(9,8aPMEA) systems, where an additional stability increase attributable to the adenine residue is observed and equilibria between four different isomers exist. This means (1) an open isomer with a sole phosphonate coordination, M(PA)op, where PA(2-)=9,8aPMEA2-, (2) an isomer with a five-membered chelate involving the ether oxygen, M(PA)cl/O, (3) an isomer which contains five- and seven-membered chelates formed by coordination of the phosphonate group, the ether oxygen and the N3 site of the adenine residue, M(PA)cl/O/N3, and finally (4) a macrochelated isomer involving N7, M(PA)cl/N7. For Cu(9,8aPMEA) the formation degrees are 15, 30, 48 and 7% for Cu(PA)op, Cu(PA)cl/O, Cu(PA)cl/O/N3 and Cu(PA)cl/N7, respectively; this proves that the macrochelate involving N7 is a minority species. The situation for the Cu(PMEA) system, where PMEA2- represents the parent compound, i.e. the dianion of 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]adenine, is quite similar. The relationship between the antiviral activity of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates and the structures of the various complexes is discussed and an explanation is offered why 9,8aPMEA is biologically active but 8,8aPMEA is not.