Automated solid-phase synthesis of protected oligosaccharides containing beta-mannosidic linkages

For automated oligosaccharide synthesis to impact glycobiology, synthetic access to most carbohydrates has to become efficient and routine. Methods to install "difficult" glycosidic linkages have to be established and incorporated into the overall synthetic concept. Described here is the first automated solid-phase synthesis of oligosaccharides containing the challenging beta-mannosidic linkage. Carboxybenzyl mannoside building blocks proved effective beta-mannosylation agents and resulted in excellent conversion and good to moderate selectivities. [(Triisopropylsilyl)oxy]-methyl ether (Tom), served as an orthogonal, minimally intrusive, and readily cleavable protecting group for the elongation of the C3 position of mannose. The desired oligosaccharide products were readily separated from by-products containing unwanted stereoisomers using reverse-phase HPLC. The methods described here expand the scope of carbohydrates currently accessible by automation as many oligosaccharides of biological interest contain beta-mannosidic linkages.

Solid-Phase Oligosaccharide Synthesis of a Small Library of N-Glycans

Solid-phase oligosaccharide synthesis is based on a hydroxymethylbenzyl benzoate spacer linker which is connected to the Merrifield resin (1 P). Glycosylation was performed with O-glycosyl trichloroacetimidates of glucosamine, mannose, and galactose permitting chain extension (2e, 5e), branching (4b, 7b, 8b), and chain termination (3t, 6t, 9t) with the use of O-benzyl, O-benzoyl, and N-dimethylmaleoyl as permanent and O-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) and O-phenoxyacetyl (PA) as temporary protecting groups. The steps required on solid phase are i) glycosylation under TMSOTf catalysis, ii) selective cleavage of the temporary protecting groups, Fmoc with NEt3 and PA with 0.5 equivalents of NaOMe in CH2Cl2/MeOH, and iii) product cleavage from the resin with 4.0 equivalents of NaOMe in CH2Cl2/MeOH and following O-acetylation for convenient product isolation. Thus a highly successful synthesis of a small library of seventeen N-glycan structures was made possible comprising the N-glycan pentasaccharide core structure 53 and two further chain extended hexa- and heptasaccharide N-glycans with a glucosamine or a lactosamine residue, respectively, which is attached to one of the mannose residues of the core structure (56 and 59).

Solid-Phase Synthesis of Complex Oligosaccharides Using a Novel Capping Reagent

Solid-phase-supported oligosaccharide synthesis of a core N-glycan tetrasaccharide and of a trisaccharide containing the Galili antigen is reported. The synthesis is based on a hydroxymethylbenzyl benzoate spacer-linker system attached to the Merrifield resin, O-Fmoc-protected O-glycosyl trichloroacetimidates as glycosyl donors, and benzoyl isocyanate as a capping reagent for low-reactivity hydroxy groups. In this way, the target molecules could be efficiently obtained with little byproduct formation, and hence final purification was convenient.