Prebiotic Phosphate Ester Syntheses in a Deep Eutectic Solvent

We report a route to synthesize a wide range of organophosphates of biological significance in a deep eutectic solvent (2:1 urea and choline chloride), utilizing various orthophosphate sources. Heating an organic alcohol in the solvent along with a soluble phosphorus source yields phosphorus esters of choline as well as that of the added organic in yields between 15 to 99 %. In addition, phosphite analogs of biological phosphates and peptides were also formed by the simple mixing of reagents and heating at 60–70 °C in the deep eutectic solvent. The presented dehydration reactions are relevant to prebiotic and green chemistry in alternative solvents.