Beweis der (S,S)-Konfiguration von (—)-Bisseton durch Synthese ausD-Glucose

The scientific legacy of Frieder W. Lichtenthaler

This article presents a selection of topics from Professor Frieder W. Lichtenthaler's scientific lifework. It describes his contributions to, and further development of, the nitromethane cyclization of dialdehydes leading to amino sugars and amino nucleosides, as well as a new coupling methodology for purine nucleosides. A number of chiral building blocks derived from sugars like the "sugar enolones," enollactones, hydroxyhexenals, and their synthetic applications in natural product syntheses are covered. The article further describes the chemistry of "ulosyl bromides" and their glycosidation reactions, including those with bifunctional acceptors, which led to the synthesis of spectinomycin and gomphoside. Lichtenthaler's work on the preparation of synthetically useful building blocks from disaccharides that are readily available in bulk quantities, and his studies on the reactivity, as well as the selective O-functionalization of sucrose, higher oligosaccharides, and cyclodextrins based on computer simulations, are highlighted. The article also presents his research on the syntheses of chiral building blocks from readily available ketoses and their synthetic applications. Finally the chapter concludes with his significant contributions in the field of the history of carbohydrate chemistry.

Making natural products from renewable feedstocks: back to the roots?

This review highlights the utilization of biomass-derived building blocks in the total synthesis of natural products.

1,5-Anhydro-D-fructose; a versatile chiral building block: biochemistry and chemistry

There is a steadily increasing need to expand sustainable resources, and carbohydrates are anticipated to play an important role in this respect, both for bulk and fine chemical preparation. The enzyme alpha-(1-->4)-glucan lyase degrades starch to 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose. This compound, which has three different functional properties, a prochiral center together with a permanent pyran ring, renders it a potential chiral building block for the synthesis of valuable and potentially biologically active compounds. 1,5-Anhydro-D-fructose is found in natural materials as a degradation product of alpha-(1-->4)-glucans. The occurrence of lyases and the metabolism of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose are reviewed in the biological part of this article. In the chemical part, the elucidated structure of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose will be presented together with simple stereoselective conversions into hydroxy/amino 1,5-anhydro hexitols and a nojirimycin analogue. Synthesis of 6-O-acylated derivatives of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose substituted with long fatty acid residues is carried out using commercially available enzymes. Those reactions lead to compounds with potential emulsifying properties. The use of protected derivatives of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose for the synthesis of natural products is likewise reviewed. The potential utilization of this chemical building block is far from being exhausted. Since 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose now is accessible in larger amounts through a simple-enzyme catalyzed degradation of starch by alpha-(1-->4)-glucan lyase, the application of 1,5-anhydro-D-fructose may be considered a valuable contribution to the utilization of carbohydrates as the most abundant resource of sustainable raw materials.

Solid-state conformations of 2,6-cis- and 2,6-trans-substituted dihydropyran-3-ones

2,6-Dihydropyran-3-ones carrying substituents at C-2 and C-6 in cis-arrangement invariably adopt half-chair conformations in which the ring oxygen and the carbon atom next to the carbonyl group are above and below, respectively, the plane formed by the other four carbon atoms, i.e., the 2Ho or oH2 conformation. In the case of a trans-arrangement of 2,6-substituents, the geometry of the pyranoid ring falls into the Bo,6<-->Eo<-->2Ho or thet inverse o,6B<-->oE<-->oH2 section of the conformational cycle, depending on the absolute configuration of the compound; for two of the dihydropyranones, 4B and 6, a unique skew-boat (SBo,6) conformation, fixed between the Bo,6 and Eo geometries, was ascertained, which previously has only been observed for pyranoid enelactones.