A facile one-pot synthesis of 8-oxo-7,8-dehydro-(2 -deoxy)adenosine in water

Reaction of 2-mercaptoethanol with 8-bromo-2-deoxyadenosine and 8-bromo-adenosine in aqueous solution and in the presence of triethylamine gave the 8-oxo-adenine derivatives in very good yields. Some mechanistic details are reported.