A novel synthetic route to 2-deoxy-3,5-di-
O-
p-toluoyl-
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
-
L-ribofuranosyl chloride (
1) from inexpensive
D-xylose (
3) isdescribed.
1 is a key intermediate in the synthesis of the antiviralagent 1-(2-deoxy-
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-
L-ribofuranosyl)thymine (
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-
L-thymidine)
(2)and other
2'-deoxy-
L-ribonucleosides. This seven-step synthesisemploys a key conversion of the
D to the
L configuration of thesugar moiety (
6 to
7 in Scheme 1) using simple reagents andreaction conditions. The entire process involves only threeisolation steps. The key compound (
1) was produced in 11%overall yield without chromatography.