New routes to 1-deoxy-(3,4-dihydro-7,8-dimethyl-2,4-dioxopyrimido[4,5-b]-quinolin-10(2H)yl)-D-ribitols (5-deazariboflavins)

The acid-catalyzed reaction of 6-(N-D-ribityl-3,4-xylidino)uracil ( 1 ) with trimethyl ortho-formate yields a bis(methoxymethylene) derivative ( 2 ), which is readily deprotected to give 5-deazariboflavin ( 3 ). Correspondingly, 5-methyl-5-deazariboflavin ( 6 ) is produced by cyclization of the tetraacetate of 1 with acetyl chloride in the presence of stannic chloride followed by deacetylation.