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Aliphatic amines react with phosphoimidazolide-activated derivatives of guanosine and cytidine (ImpN) by replacing the imidazole group. The kinetics of reaction of guanosine 5'-phospho-2-methylimidazolide (2-MeImpG) with glycine ethyl ester, glycinamide, 2-methoxyethylamine, n-butylamine, morpholine, dimethylamine (Me2NH), ethylmethylamine (EtNHMe), diethylamine (Et2NH), pyrrolidine, and piperidine were determined in water at 37 degrees C. With primary amines, a plot of the logarithm of the rate constant for attack by the amine on the protonated substrate, log kSH(A), versus the pKa of the amine exhibits a good linear correlation with a Bronsted slope, beta nuc = 0.48. Most of the secondary amines tested react with slightly higher reactivity than primary amines of similar pKa. Interestingly, some secondary amines show substantially lower reactivity than might be expected: EtNHMe reacts about eight times, and Et2NH at least 100 times, more slowly than Me2NH although all three amines are of similar basicity. For comparison, the kinetics of reaction of guanosine 5'-phosphoimidazolide (ImpG) and cytidine 5'-phosphoimidazolide (ImpC) were determined with Me2NH, EtNHMe, and Et2NH, and similar results were obtained. These results establish that the increased steric hindrance observed with the successive addition of ethyl groups are not due to any special steric requirements imposed by the guanosine or the methyl on the 2-methylimidazole leaving group of 2-MeImpG. It is concluded that addition of ethyl and, perhaps, groups larger than ethyl dramatically increases the kinetic barrier for addition of aliphatic secondary amines to the P-N bond of ImpN. This study supports the observation that the primary amino groups on the natural polyamines are at least 2 orders of magnitude more reactive than the secondary amino groups in the reaction with ImpN.

Evidence is presented for complexation of guanosine 5'-monophosphate 2-methylimidazolide (2-MeImpG) with polycytidylate (poly(C)) at pH 8.0 and 23 degrees C in the presence of 1.0 M NaCl2 and 0.2 M MgCl2 in water. The association of 2-MeImpG with poly(C) was investigated using UV-vis spectroscopy as well as by monitoring the kinetics of the nucleophilic substitution reaction of the imidazole moiety by amines. The results of both methods are consistent with moderately strong poly(C) 2-MeImpG complexation and the spectrophotometric measurements allowed the construction of a binding isotherm with a concentration of 2-MeImpG equal to 5.55 +/- 0.15 mM at half occupancy. UV spectroscopy was employed to establish the binding of other guanosine derivatives on poly(C). These derivatives are guanosine 5'-monophosphate (5'GMP), guanosine 5'-monophosphate imidazolide (ImpG), and guanosine 5'-monophosphate morpholidate (morpG). Within experimental error these guanosine derivatives exhibit the same affinity for poly(C) as 2-MeImpG.

On the basis of recently discovered RNAs with catalytic capabilities resembling those of enzymes, it is postulated that an 'RNA world' may have played a determining role in prebiotic chemistry and led evolution from prebiological to biological systems. The advent of the RNA world thus postulated, however, entails the preexistence of ribomononucleotides, and presumes that their reactions resulted in templatelike oligonucleotides. Attention is presently given to the reaction of nucleoside monophosphates with the phosphoimidazolide-activated nucleosides that (1) have successfully been used in place of the natural nucleoside triphosphates and (2) for whose prebiotic existence there is now some evidence.

Symmetrical dinucleoside 5'-pyrophosphates have been synthesized from the corresponding nucleoside 5'-phosphate free acid in high yield. The one-pot procedure is carried out in DMF or DMSO using triphenylphosphine and 2,2'-dipyridyldisulfide as the coupling agents, and 1-methylimidazole as the catalyst.

An earlier study of the reaction of phosphoimidazolide activated nucleosides (ImpN) in aqueous phosphate buffers indicated two modes of reaction of the phosphate monoanion and dianion. The first mode is catalysis of the hydrolysis of the P-N bond in ImpN's which leads to imidazole and nucleoside 5'-monophosphate. The second represents a nucleophilic substitution of the imidazole to yield the nucleoside 5'-diphosphate. This earlier study thus served as a model for the reaction of ImpN with nucleoside monophosphates (pN) because the latter can be regarded as phosphate derivatives. In the present study we investigated the reaction of guanosine 5'-phosphate-2-methylimidazolide, 2-MeImpG, in the presence of pN (N = guanosine, adenosine and uridine) in the range 6.9 less than or equal to pH less than or equal to 7.7. We observed that pN's do act as nucleophiles to form NppG, and as general base to enhance the hydrolysis of the P-N bond in 2-MeImpG, i.e. pN show the same behavior as inorganic phosphate. The kinetic analysis yields the following rate constants for the dianion pN2-: knpN = 0.17 +/- 0.02 M-1 h-1 for nucleophilic attack and khpN = 0.11 +/- 0.07 M-1 h-1 for general base catalysis of the hydrolysis. These rate constants which are independent of the nucleobase compare with kp.2 = 0.415 M-1 h-1 and khp2. = 0.217 M-1 h-1 for the reactions of HPO4(2-). In addition, this study shows that under conditions where pN presumably form stacks, the reaction mechanism remains unchanged although in quantitative terms stacked pN are somewhat less reactive. Attack by the 2'-OH and 3'-OH groups of the ribose moiety in amounts greater than or equal to 1% is not observed; this is attributed to the large difference in nucleophilicity in the neutral pH range between the phosphate group and the ribose hydroxyls. This nucleophilicity rank is not altered by stacking.