A stereoselective α-glucosylation by use of a mixture of 4-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride, silver tri-fluoromethanesulfonate, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and triethylamine

Recent advances in stereoselective 1,2-cis-O-glycosylations

For the stereoselective assembly of bioactive glycans with various functions, 1,2-cis-O-glycosylation is one of the most essential issues in synthetic carbohydrate chemistry. The cis-configured O-glycosidic linkages to the substituents at two positions of the non-reducing side residue of the glycosides such as α-glucopyranoside, α-galactopyranoside, β-mannopyranoside, β-arabinofuranoside, and other rather rare glycosides are found in natural glycans, including glycoconjugate (glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans, and microbial polysaccharides) and glycoside natural products. The way to 1,2-trans isomers is well sophisticated by using the effect of neighboring group participation from the most effective and kinetically favored C-2 substituent such as an acyl group, although high stereoselective synthesis of 1,2-cis glycosides without formation of 1,2-trans isomers is far less straightforward. Although the key factors that control the stereoselectivity of glycosylation are largely understood since chemical glycosylation was considered to be one of the useful methods to obtain glycosidic linkages as the alternative way of isolation from natural sources, strictly controlled formation of these 1,2-cis glycosides is generally difficult. This minireview introduces some of the recent advances in the development of 1,2-cis selective glycosylations, including the quite recent developments in glycosyl donor modification, reaction conditions, and methods for activation of intermolecular glycosylation, including the bimodal glycosylation strategy for 1,2-cis and 1,2-trans glycosides, as well as intramolecular glycosylations, including recent applications of NAP-ether-mediated intramolecular aglycon delivery.

Leveraging Trifluoromethylated Benzyl Groups toward the Highly 1,2-Cis-Selective Glucosylation of Reactive Alcohols

Here, we demonstrate that substitution of the benzyl groups of glucosyl imidate donors with trifluoromethyl results in a substantial increase in 1,2-cis-selectivity when activated with TMS-I in the presence of triphenylphosphine oxide. Stereoselectivity is dependent on the number of trifluoromethyl groups (4-trifluoromethylbenzyl vs 3,5-bis-trifluoromethylbenzyl). Particularly encouraging is that we observe high 1,2-cis-selectivity with reactive alcohol acceptors.

Reagent controlled stereoselective synthesis of teichoic acid α-(1,2)-glucans

The stereoselective construction of 1,2-cis-glycosidic linkages is key in the assembly of biologically relevant glycans, but remains a synthetic challenge. Reagent-controlled glycosylation methodologies, in which external nucleophiles are employed to modulate the reactivity of the glycosylation system, have become powerful means for the construction of 1,2-cis-glycosidic linkages. Here we establish that nucleophilic additives can support the construction of α-1,2-glucans, and apply our findings in the construction of a d-alanine kojibiose functionalized glycerol phosphate teichoic acid fragment. This latter molecule can be found in the cell wall of the opportunistic Gram-positive bacterium, Enterococcus faecalis and represents a structural element that can possibly be used in the development of therapeutic vaccines and diagnostic tools.

Recent Developments in Stereoselective Chemical Glycosylation

Because of their pivotal biological functions, attention to sugars and glycobiology has grown rapidly in recent decades, leading to increased demand for homogeneous oligosaccharides. The stereoselective preparation of oligosaccharides by chemical means remains challenging and continues to be a vivid research area for organic chemists. In the past decade, new approaches and reinvestigated traditional methods have transformed the field. These developments include novel catalyses, various types of glycosylation modulators and the use of photochemical energy to facilitate glycosylation. This Minireview presents a brief overview of the latest trends in chemical glycosylation, with emphasis on the stereoselective synthetic protocols developed in the past decade.

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.

Reagent Controlled Stereoselective Synthesis of α-Glucans

The development of a general glycosylation method that allows for the stereoselective construction of glycosidic linkages is a tremendous challenge. Because of the differences in steric and electronic properties of the building blocks used, the outcome of a glycosylation reaction can vary greatly when switching form one glycosyl donor-acceptor pair to another. We here report a strategy to install cis-glucosidic linkages in a fully stereoselective fashion that is under direct control of the reagents used to activate a single type of donor building block. The activating reagents are tuned to the intrinsic reactivity of the acceptor alcohol to match the reactivity of the glycosylating agent with the reactivity of the incoming nucleophile. A protecting group strategy is introduced that is based on the sole use of benzyl-ether type protecting groups to circumvent changes in reactivity as a result of the protecting groups. For the stereoselective construction of the α-glucosyl linkages to a secondary alcohol, a per-benzylated glusosyl imidate donor is activated with a combination of trimethylsilyltriflate and DMF, while activation of the same imidate donor with trimethylsilyl iodide in the presence of triphenylphosphine oxide allows for the stereoselective cis-glucosylation of primary alcohols. The effectiveness of the strategy is illustrated in the modular synthesis of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis nonasaccharide, composed of an α-(1-4)-oligoglucose backbone bearing different α-glucosyl branches.

Linear synthesis of the branched pentasaccharide repeats of O-antigens from Shigella flexneri 1a and 1b demonstrating the major steric hindrance associated with type-specific glucosylation

Shigella flexneri serotypes 1b and 1a are Gram-negative enteroinvasive bacteria causing shigellosis in humans.

[Dehydrative glycosidation and partially benzylated sugar derivatives]

Dehydrative glycosidation reactions reported by the authors' group are reviewed. The authors' efforts were concentrated on developing reagent systems usable for one-stage-one-pot glycosidation. Such systems could simplify the glycosidation step using 1-OH sugar derivatives, since any preactivation stage for the hemiacetal OH group could be omitted. The systems, utilizing the dehydration potential of sulfonyl chloride, such as the p-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride-silver trifluoromethanesulfonate-triethylamine system as well as the p-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride-silver trifluoromethanesulfonate-N,N-dimethylacetamide-triethylamine system, were useful for the syntheses of many kinds of oligosaccharides. As a system free from any metals, the authors developed the trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate-pyridine (TP) system. During the study of the system containing cobalt (II) bromide, the authors found that the bromide converts 1-OH sugar into the corresponding 1-Br derivative, which is then activated with the cobalt salt to undergo glycosidation with alcohol. To prepare partially benzylated sugar derivatives used as acceptors in the authors' studies, controlled benzylation and forced tritylation were carried out. Short syntheses of a variety of useful sugar derivatives using such convenient procedures are described. As a novel protecting group for the hemiacetal OH group, the authors used the 2-methoxyethyl group. Many kinds of trehalose-type disaccarides we prepared.

One-pot alpha-glycosylation method using Appel agents in N,N-dimethylformamide

[reaction: see text] A concept for the development of practical glycosylation is presented and demonstrated by one-pot alpha-glycosylation applying Appel agents for 2-O-benzyl-1-OH hexoses in DMF. The reaction, in situ giving the equilibrium of glycosyl bromides and more reactive O-glycoside intermediates, accomplishes a near-quantitative alpha-glycosylation removing the water molecules.