Stereoselective diversity-oriented syntheses of functionalized saccharides from bicyclic carbohydrate 1,2-lactones

Strategies for the synthesis of furo-pyranones and their application in the total synthesis of related natural products

The furo-pyranone framework is widely present in the molecular structure of various biologically potent natural products and un-natural small molecules, and it represents a valuable target in synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

Homogeneous Catalysis: A Powerful Technology for the Modification of Important Biomolecules

Homogeneous catalysis plays an important and ubiquitous role in the synthesis of simple and complex molecules, including drug compounds, natural products, and agrochemicals. In recent years, the wide-reaching importance of homogeneous catalysis has made it an indispensable tool for the modification of biomolecules, such as carbohydrates (sugars), amino acids, peptides, nucleosides, nucleotides, and steroids. Such a synthetic strategy offers several advantages, which have led to the development of new molecules of biological relevance at a rapid rate relative to the number of available synthetic methods. Given the powerful nature of homogeneous catalysis in effecting these synthetic transformations, this Focus Review has been compiled to highlight these important developments.

C-Glycopyranosyl Arenes and Hetarenes: Synthetic Methods and Bioactivity Focused on Antidiabetic Potential

This Review summarizes close to 500 primary publications and surveys published since 2000 about the syntheses and diverse bioactivities of C-glycopyranosyl (het)arenes. A classification of the preparative routes to these synthetic targets according to methodologies and compound categories is provided. Several of these compounds, regardless of their natural or synthetic origin, display antidiabetic properties due to enzyme inhibition (glycogen phosphorylase, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B) or by inhibiting renal sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2). The latter class of synthetic inhibitors, very recently approved as antihyperglycemic drugs, opens new perspectives in the pharmacological treatment of type 2 diabetes. Various compounds with the C-glycopyranosyl (het)arene motif were subjected to biological studies displaying among others antioxidant, antiviral, antibiotic, antiadhesive, cytotoxic, and glycoenzyme inhibitory effects.

Enantiodivergent Hydroboration Reactions of a Racemic Allenylsilane with Diisopinocampheylborane and Curtin-Hammett Controlled Double Asymmetric Crotylboration Reactions of (S)-E-α-phenyldimethylsilyl( d diisopinocampheyl)-crotylborane

The enantiodivergent hydroboration reactions of racemic allenylsilane (±)-4 with ( ^d Ipc)₂BH and subsequent crotylboration of achiral aldehydes with the product crotylborane (S)-E-5 at -78 °C provide (E)-δ-silyl-anti-homoallylic alcohols 6 in 71-89% yield and with 93-96% ee. Intriguingly, mismatched double asymmetric crotylboration reactions of enantioenriched chiral aldehydes 20 with (S)-E-5 proceed under Curtin-Hammett control to give anti-3-hydroxylcrotylsilanes 24 as the only products.

Recent advances in the stereoselective synthesis of carbohydrate 2-C-analogs

C-branched carbohydrates are of current interest for glycochemistry, are widely found in nature and serve as important subunits in many antibiotics, bacterial polysaccharides and macrolides. Among C-functionalized saccharides, 2-C-branched carbohydrates represent challenging structures for synthetic chemists, since in contrast to C-glycosides they are not easily accessible from glycosyl bromides or other simple precursors. In this perspective we want to summarize recent approaches to 2-C-branched carbohydrates over the past fifteen years. The two main strategies are based on ring-opening of 1,2-cyclopropanated carbohydrates by various reagents, as well as radical additions to glycals and further transformations, developed in our group. Both methods are characterized by high stereoselectivities and good yields and give access to a broad variety of functionalized carbohydrate 2-C-analogs.

Barton radical reactions of 2-C-branched carbohydrates

Barton esters have been introduced into the side chain of carbohydrates with high yields in only a few steps from easily available glycals. Their radical reactions afford 2-C-methyl and 2-C-bromomethyl hexoses, pentoses and disaccharides in good yields in analytically pure form. Since the Barton esters have been synthesized by an oxidative radical addition and their transformations by reductive radical processes, our results demonstrate the power of such reactions in carbohydrate chemistry.