Ferrocene-modified pyrimidine nucleosides: synthesis, structure and electrochemistry

This paper reports syntheses, crystal structures and electrochemical results for two ferrocene(Fc)-modified pyrimidine nucleosides that could potentially be used for investigating electron transfer in DNA. Fc was directly attached to the 5-position of deoxyuridine and deoxycytidine via the Stille coupling reaction. Fc-modified uridine was incorporated into DNA trinucleotides with standard solid-phase synthesis. The structures of corresponding detritylated compounds were determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Electrochemical investigations of all compounds by cyclic voltammetry revealed reversible redox processes.