Design, synthesis, and antiviral evaluation of purine-β-lactam and purine-aminopropanol hybrids.

Purine-β-lactam chimera were prepared as a novel class of hybrid systems through N-alkylation of 6-benzylamino- or 6-benzyloxypurine with (ω-haloalkyl)-β-lactams, followed by reductive ring opening of the β-lactam ring by LiEt(3)BH to provide an entry into the class of purine-aminopropanol hybrids. Both new types of hybrid systems were assessed for their antiviral activity and cytotoxicity, resulting in the identification of eight purine-β-lactam hybrids and two purine-aminopropanol hybrids as promising lead structures.