Efficient synthesis of unprotected C-5-aryl/heteroaryl-2'-deoxyuridine via a Suzuki-Miyaura reaction in aqueous media.

Following our previous results on an environmentally benign one-pot Sonogashira-cyclization protocol to obtain substituted furopyrimidine nucleosides under aqueous conditions, we investigate herein the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of aryl and heteroaryl derivatives at the C5 position of unprotected 2'-deoxyuridine in the same media with a common catalyst system avoiding exotic ligands, since palladium acetate and triphenylphosphine afforded the expected products in moderate to good yields.