Chemoenzymatic preparation of ribose, deoxyribose and arabinose 5-phosphates was accomplished. These compounds were tested as starting materials in the enzymatic preparation of natural and modified purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, using an overexpressed Escherichia coli phosphopentomutase.
[Meier, Lidiane; Monteiro, Gustavo C.; Baldissera, Rodrigo A.M.; Sa, Marcus Mandolesi Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, 2010 , vol. 21, # 5 p. 859 - 866]