Synthesis of 2′-C-methylcytidine and 2′-C-methyluridine derivatives modified in the 3′-position as potential antiviral agents

As part of our anti-hepatitis C program, we recently discovered 2'-C-methylcytidine ( 1) and 2'-C-methyluridine ( 2), which are potent inhibitors in cell culture of several viruses ( bovine viral diarrhea virus ( BVDV), yellow fever virus (YFV)) closely related to HCV. In order to characterize structure - activity relationships, we introduced some structural and functional modifications into the 3'-position of 2'-C-methylcytidine and 2'-C-methyluridine. All these hitherto unknown compounds thus synthesized were tested for the activity against a wide range of viruses and found to be inactive.