Abstract A simple and efficient route to N 6-acetyl-2′, 3′, 5′-tri-O-acetyladenosine (1) was developed based on selective N-deacetylation of pentaacetylated adenosine 2 with methanol at room temperature in the presence of imidazole. Preparative synthesis of 1 was elaborated utilizing a crude mixture of 2 and 1 which is produced by reaction of adenosine with acetic anhydride in pyridine at elevated temperatures. The total yield of 1 was 80-85 ...