Synthesis and Characterization of Abasic ?-Diol-C-nucleosides

Modified nucleobases are potentially useful building blocks when containing catalytically active functionalities and could be introduced in chiral tridimensional molecules such as nucleic acids, which creates the premises for the development of novel catalytic species. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a novel & beta;-C-nucleoside bearing a diol group at anomeric position, amenable as a metal ligand or organocatalyst. An abasic ligand was successfully prepared and inserted into a complementary DNA strand.