Abstract N-arylmethyladenines are photolyzed in water, giving adenine and the corresponding arylmethanols. The reaction is not only observed when the arylmethyl group is a meta-substituted benzyl, but also with more complex substituents like imidazo [1, 2-a] pyridin-6-ylmethyl. Meta-substituted arylmethyl groups are proposed as photoremovable N- protective groups in adenine chemistry.
