We have carried out a theoretical analysis of aza analogues of [2',5'-bis-
O-(
tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
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D-ribofuranosyl]-3'-spiro-5' '-(4' '-amino-1' ',2' '-oxathiole-2' ',2' '-dioxide) by a variety of computational tools,aimed to account for the effect of the endocyclic amino moiety
N-2' ' on the inhibitory activity againstHIV-1. Docking studies suggest that compounds substituted at the
N-3 and
N-2' ' positions present the samebinding mode to the [2',5'-bis-
O-(
tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
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D-ribofuranosyl]-3'-spiro-5' '-(4' '-amino-1' ',2' '-oxathiole-2' ',2' '-dioxide)thymine prototype, where the endocyclic amino group remains mostly exposed tothe solvent. A careful conformational analysis performed through different theoretical levels, from molecularmechanics to high-level quantum mechanical calculations, provides a rationalization based on conformationalpreferences, which appears as strongly determined by the substitution at
N-2' ', and on electrostatic effectsfrom the bulk water.