Synthesis of sialyl halides with various acyl protective groups

Glycosyl halides are historically one of the first glycosyl donors used in glycosylation reactions, and interest in glycosylation reactions involving this class of glycosyl donors is currently increasing. New methods for their activation have been proposed and effective syntheses of oligosaccharides with their participation have been developed. At the same time, the possibilities of using these approaches to the synthesis of sialosides are restricted by the limited diversity of known sialyl halides (previously, mainly sialyl chlorides, less often sialyl bromides and sialyl fluorides, with acetyl (Ac) groups at the oxygen atoms and AcNH, Ac2N and N3 groups at C-5 were used). This work describes the synthesis of six new N-acetyl- and N-trifluoroacetyl-sialyl chlorides and bromides with O-chloroacetyl and O-trifluoroacetyl protective groups. Preparation of N,O-trifluoroacetyl protected derivatives was made possible due to development of the synthesis of sialic acid methyl ester pentaol with N-trifluoroacetyl group.

Origin of Stereoselectivity in SE 2' Reactions of Six-membered Ring Oxocarbenium Ions

Oxocarbenium ions are key reactive intermediates in organic chemistry. To generate a series of structure-reactivity-stereoselectivity principles for these species, we herein investigated the bimolecular electrophilic substitution reactions (S_E 2') between allyltrimethylsilane and a series of archetypal six-membered ring oxocarbenium ions using a combined density functional theory (DFT) and coupled-cluster theory approach. These reactions preferentially proceed following a reaction path where the oxocarbenium ion transforms from a half chair (³ H₄ or ⁴ H₃ ) to a chair conformation. The introduction of alkoxy substituents on six-membered ring oxocarbenium ions, dramatically influences the conformational preference of the canonical ³ H₄ and ⁴ H₃ conformers, and thereby the stereochemical outcome of the S_E 2' reaction. In general, we find that the stereoselectivity in the reactions correlates to the "intrinsic preference" of the cations, as dictated by their shape. However, for the C5-CH₂ OMe substituent, steric factors override the "intrinsic preference", showing a more selective reaction than expected based on the shape of the ion. Our S_E 2' energetics correlate well with experimentally observed stereoselectivity, and the use of the activation strain model has enabled us to quantify important interactions and structural features that occur in the transition state of the reactions to precisely understand the relative energy barriers of the diastereotopic addition reactions. The fundamental mechanistic insight provided in this study will aid in understanding the reactivity of more complex glycosyl cations featuring multiple substituents and will facilitate our general understanding of glycosylation reactions.

Rapid access to organic triflates based on flash generation of unstable sulfonium triflates in flow

Flash (extremely fast) electrochemical generation of unstable arylbis(arylthio)sulfonium triflates [ArS(ArSSAr)]⁺ [OTf]^- that are unsuitable for accumulation in batch processes was achieved within 10 s in a divided-type flow electrochemcial reactor, enabling one-flow access to vinyl triflates, short-lived oxocarbenium triflates and glycosyl triflates.

Anodic Reactivity of Alkyl S-Glucosides

A voltammetric study of a series of alkyl and aryl S-glucosides unveiled the reactivity patterns of alkyl S-glucosides toward anodic oxidation and found noteworthy differences with the trends followed by aryl derivatives. The oxidation potential of alkyl S-glucosides, estimated herein from square-wave voltammetry peak potentials (E_p), depends on the steric properties of the aglycone. Glucosides substituted with bulky groups exhibit E_p values at voltages more positive than the values of those carrying small aglycones. This relationship, observed in all analyzed alkyl series, is evidenced by good linear correlations between E_p and Taft's steric parameters (E_S) of the respective alkyl substituents. Moreover, the role of the aglycone's steric properties as a primary reactivity modulator is backed by poor correlations between E_p and the radical stabilization energies (RSEs) of the aglycone-derived thiyl radicals (RS•). In contrast, aryl glucosides' E_p values exhibit excellent correlations with the aryl substituents' Hammett parameters (σ+) and the ArS• RSEs, evidencing the inherent stability of the reactive radical intermediate as the primary factor controlling aryl glucoside's electrochemical reactivity. The reactivity differences between alkyl and aryl S-glucosides also extend to the protective group's effect on E_p. Alkyl S-glucosides' reactivity proved to be more sensitive to protective group exchange.

Flash Electrochemical Approach to Carbocations

A novel flow electrochemical reactor that accomplishes electrolysis within a few seconds in a single passage was developed. By using the flow reactor system, the flash electrochemical generation of short-lived carbocations, including oxocarbenium ions, N -acyliminium ions, glycosyl cations, and Ferrier cations was achieved within a few seconds, enabling the subsequent reaction with nucleophiles before their decomposition. Moreover, continuous operation based on the present system enabled the rapid synthesis of pharmaceutical precursors on demand.

Electrochemical Assembly for Synthesis of Middle-Sized Organic Molecules

Electrochemical methods offer a powerful, reliable, and environmentally benign approach for the synthesis of small organic molecules, and such methods are useful not only for the transformation of small molecules, but also for the preparation of oligomers and polymers. Electrochemical assembly is a concept that allows structurally well-defined middle-sized organic molecules to be synthesized by applying electrochemical methods. The preparation of dendrimers, dendronized polymers, and oligosaccharides are introduced as examples of such an approach. Automated electrochemical assembly of oligosaccharides is also demonstrated using the electrochemical synthesizer developed by our group.

Glycosyl Oxocarbenium Ions: Structure, Conformation, Reactivity, and Interactions

Carbohydrates (glycans, saccharides, and sugars) are essential molecules in all domains of life. Research on glycoscience spans from chemistry to biomedicine, including material science and biotechnology. Access to pure and well-defined complex glycans using synthetic methods depends on the success of the employed glycosylation reaction. In most cases, the mechanism of the glycosylation reaction is believed to involve the oxocarbenium ion. Understanding the structure, conformation, reactivity, and interactions of this glycosyl cation is essential to predict the outcome of the reaction. In this Account, building on our contributions on this topic, we discuss the theoretical and experimental approaches that have been employed to decipher the key features of glycosyl cations, from their structures to their interactions and reactivity.We also highlight that, from a chemical perspective, the glycosylation reaction can be described as a continuum, from unimolecular SN1 with naked oxocarbenium cations as intermediates to bimolecular SN2-type mechanisms, which involve the key role of counterions and donors. All these factors should be considered and are discussed herein. The importance of dissociative mechanisms (involving contact ion pairs, solvent-separated ion pairs, solvent-equilibrated ion pairs) with bimolecular features in most reactions is also highlighted.The role of theoretical calculations to predict the conformation, dynamics, and reactivity of the oxocarbenium ion is also discussed, highlighting the advances in this field that now allow access to the conformational preferences of a variety of oxocarbenium ions and their reactivities under SN1-like conditions.Specifically, the ground-breaking use of superacids to generate these cations is emphasized, since it has permitted characterization of the structure and conformation of a variety of glycosyl oxocarbenium ions in superacid solution by NMR spectroscopy.We also pay special attention to the reactivity of these glycosyl ions, which depends on the conditions, including the counterions, the possible intra- or intermolecular participation of functional groups that may stabilize the cation and the chemical nature of the acceptor, either weak or strong nucleophile. We discuss recent investigations from different experimental perspectives, which identified the involved ionic intermediates, estimating their lifetimes and reactivities and studying their interactions with other molecules. In this context, we also emphasize the relationship between the chemical methods that can be employed to modulate the sensitivity of glycosyl cations and the way in which glycosyl modifying enzymes (glycosyl hydrolases and transferases) build and cleave glycosidic linkages in nature. This comparison provides inspiration on the use of molecules that regulate the stability and reactivity of glycosyl cations.

Oxo-Thiolation of Cationically Polymerizable Alkenes Using Flow Microreactors

The present study describes the cationic oxo-thiolation of polymerizable alkenes by using highly reactive cationic species generated by anodic oxidation. These highly reactive cations were able to activate alkenes before their polymerization. Fast mixing in flow microreactors effectively controlled chemoselectivity, enabling higher reaction temperatures.

Methods for 2-Deoxyglycoside Synthesis

Deoxy-sugars often play a critical role in modulating the potency of many bioactive natural products. Accordingly, there has been sustained interest in methods for their synthesis over the past several decades. The focus of much of this work has been on developing new glycosylation reactions that permit the mild and selective construction of deoxyglycosides. This Review covers classical approaches to deoxyglycoside synthesis, as well as more recently developed chemistry that aims to control the selectivity of the reaction through rational design of the promoter. Where relevant, the application of this chemistry to natural product synthesis will also be described.

The Experimental Evidence in Support of Glycosylation Mechanisms at the SN1-SN2 Interface

A critical review of the state-of-the-art evidence in support of the mechanisms of glycosylation reactions is provided. Factors affecting the stability of putative oxocarbenium ions as intermediates at the SN1 end of the mechanistic continuum are first surveyed before the evidence, spectroscopic and indirect, for the existence of such species on the time scale of glycosylation reactions is presented. Current models for diastereoselectivity in nucleophilic attack on oxocarbenium ions are then described. Evidence in support of the intermediacy of activated covalent glycosyl donors is reviewed, before the influences of the structure of the nucleophile, of the solvent, of temperature, and of donor-acceptor hydrogen bonding on the mechanism of glycosylation reactions are surveyed. Studies on the kinetics of glycosylation reactions and the use of kinetic isotope effects for the determination of transition-state structure are presented, before computational models are finally surveyed. The review concludes with a critical appraisal of the state of the art.

Synthetic Organic Electrochemical Methods Since 2000: On the Verge of a Renaissance

Electrochemistry represents one of the most intimate ways of interacting with molecules. This review discusses advances in synthetic organic electrochemistry since 2000. Enabling methods and synthetic applications are analyzed alongside innate advantages as well as future challenges of electroorganic chemistry.

Electrogenerated Cationic Reactive Intermediates: The Pool Method and Further Advances

Electrochemistry serves as a powerful method for generating reactive intermediates, such as organic cations. In general, there are two ways to use reactive intermediates for chemical reactions: (1) generation in the presence of a reaction partner and (2) generation in the absence of a reaction partner with accumulation in solution as a "pool" followed by reaction with a subsequently added reaction partner. The former approach is more popular because reactive intermediates are usually short-lived transient species, but the latter method is more flexible and versatile. This review focuses on the latter approach and provides a concise overview of the current methods for the generation and accumulation of cationic reactive intermediates as a pool using modern techniques of electrochemistry and their reactions with subsequently added nucleophilic reaction partners.

A propos of glycosyl cations and the mechanism of chemical glycosylation; the current state of the art

An overview of recent advances in glycosylation with particular emphasis on mechanism is presented. The mounting evidence for both the existence of glycosyl oxocarbenium ions as fleeting intermediates in some reactions, and the crucial role of the associated counterion in others is discussed. The extremes of the SN1 and SN2 manifolds for the glycosylation reaction are bridged by a continuum of mechanisms in which it appears likely that most examples are located.

Low temperature in situ Raman spectroscopy of an electro-generated arylbis(arylthio)sulfonium ion

Low temperature in situ Raman spectroscopy detects reactive intermediate cations generated by the electrochemical oxidation in organic chemistry.

Optimizing electron transfer mediators based on arylimidazoles by ring fusion: synthesis, electrochemistry, and computational analysis of 2-aryl-1-methylphenanthro[9,10-d]imidazoles

A significant improvement of the properties of redox catalysts based on the triarylimidazole framework can be achieved with a simple structural modification. By linking the ortho-carbons of the aromatics positioned at C-4 and C-5, a fused framework is generated, removing the distortion from planarity and enhancing the influence of the substituents on the redox properties. This modification leads not only to a much broader range of available redox potentials for the resulting phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazoles but also to improved stability of the corresponding radical cation. These concepts were verified with eight new phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole derivatives, using cyclic voltammetry and DFT calculations. For this purpose, an optimized and general synthetic route to the desired compounds was developed. An excellent linear correlation of the calculated effective ionization potentials with the experimental oxidation potentials was obtained, allowing for an accurate prediction of oxidation potentials of derivatives yet to be synthesized. Moreover, high catalytic activity was found for electro-oxidative C-H activation reactions.

Flow microreactor synthesis in organo-fluorine chemistry

Organo-fluorine compounds are the substances of considerable interest in various industrial fields due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Despite increased demand in wide fields of science, synthesis of fluoro-organic compounds is still often faced with problems such as the difficulties in handling of fluorinating reagents and in controlling of chemical reactions. Recently, flow microreactor synthesis has emerged as a new methodology for producing chemical substances with high efficiency. This review outlines the successful examples of synthesis and reactions of fluorine-containing molecules by the use of flow microreactor systems to overcome long-standing problems in fluorine chemistry.

Stereoselective C-glycoside formation with 2-O-benzyl-4,6-O-benzylidene protected 3-deoxy gluco- and mannopyranoside donors: comparison with O-glycoside formation

Unlike alcohols, the reaction of C-nucleophiles with 2-O-benzyl-4,6-O-benzylidene-protected 3-deoxy-gluco- and mannopyranosyl thioglycosides is highly stereoselective providing the α-C-glycosides in the gluco-series and the β-C-glycosides in the manno-series. Conformational analysis of nucleophilic attack of putative intermediate glycosyl oxocarbenium ions suggests that the observed selectivities for C-glycoside formation can be explained by preferential attack on the opposite face of the oxocarbenium to the C2-H2 bond and that eclipsing interactions with this bond are the main stereodetermining factor. It is argued that the steric interactions in the attack of alcohols (sp(3)-hybridized O) and of typical carbon-based nucleophiles (sp(2) C) on oxocarbenium ions are very different, with the former being less severe, and thus that there is no a priori reason to expect O- and C-glycosylation to exhibit parallel stereoselectivities for attack on a given oxocarbenium ion.

Cation clock permits distinction between the mechanisms of α- and β-O- and β-C-glycosylation in the mannopyranose series: evidence for the existence of a mannopyranosyl oxocarbenium ion

The use of a cationic cyclization reaction as a probe of the glycosylation mechanism has been developed and applied to the 4,6-O-benzylidene-protected mannopyranoside system. Cyclization results in the formation of both cis- and trans-fused tricyclic systems, invoking an intermediate glycosyl oxocarbenium ion reacting through a boat conformation. Competition reactions with isopropanol and trimethyl(methallyl)silane are interpreted as indicating that β-O-mannosylation proceeds via an associative S(N)2-like mechanism, whereas α-O-mannosylation and β-C-mannosylation are dissociative and S(N)1-like. Relative rate constants for reactions going via a common intermediate can be estimated.

Enzymatic glycosylation of small molecules: challenging substrates require tailored catalysts

Glycosylation can significantly improve the physicochemical and biological properties of small molecules like vitamins, antibiotics, flavors, and fragrances. The chemical synthesis of glycosides is, however, far from trivial and involves multistep routes that generate lots of waste. In this review, biocatalytic alternatives are presented that offer both stricter specificities and higher yields. The advantages and disadvantages of different enzyme classes are discussed and illustrated with a number of recent examples. Progress in the field of enzyme engineering and screening are expected to result in new applications of biocatalytic glycosylation reactions in various industrial sectors.

Dissecting the mechanisms of a class of chemical glycosylation using primary ¹³C kinetic isotope effects

Although arguably the most important reaction in glycoscience, chemical glycosylations are among the least well understood of organic chemical reactions, resulting in an unnecessarily high degree of empiricism and a brake on rational development in this critical area. To address this problem, primary (13)C kinetic isotope effects have now been determined for the formation of β- and α-manno- and glucopyranosides using a natural abundance NMR method. In contrast to the common current assumption, for three of the four cases studied the experimental and computed values are indicative of associative displacement of the intermediate covalent glycosyl trifluoromethanesulfonates. For the formation of the α-mannopyranosides, the experimentally determined KIE differs significantly from that computed for an associative displacement, which is strongly suggestive of a dissociative mechanism that approaches the intermediacy of a glycosyl oxocarbenium ion. The application of analogous experiments to other glycosylation systems should shed further light on their mechanisms and thus assist in the design of better reactions conditions with improved stereoselectivity.