The present invention is directed to the process for the preparation of 2'-deoxy-2'-halo-.beta.-L-arabinofuranosyl nucleosides, and in particular, 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-.beta.-L-arabinofuranosyl thymine (L-FMAU), from L-arabinose, which is commercially available and less expensive than L-ribose or L-xylose, in ten steps. All of the reagents and starting materials are inexpensive and no special equipment is required to carry out the reactions.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/280,307, filed on Mar. 30, 2001, and this application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/112,403, filed Mar. 29, 2002, now granted as U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,048, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
