Synthesis and Antiviral Activities of Some Novel Carbocyclic Nucleosides

Abstract cis-3-Aminomethylcyclopentylmethanol (4), prepared from norbornene (5) in four steps and 51 % overall yield, was used as a precursor in the synthesis of carbocylic nucleosides 13–18 containing guanine and 8-azaguanine bases. None of these compounds had appreciable activity against fourteen viruses in the concentration range tested. Compounds 13 and 16 showed cytotoxicity to all or part of the cell lines used.