1-Methyl 1′-cyclopropylmethyl: an acid labile O-protecting group for polymer-supported oligosaccharide synthesis

A Base-Catalyzed Approach for the anti-Markovnikov Hydration of Styrene Derivatives

The base-catalyzed addition of 1-cyclopropylethanol to styrene derivatives with an acidic reaction workup enables anti-Markovnikov hydration. The use of either catalytic organic superbase or crown ether-ligated inorganic base permits hydration of a wide variety of styrene derivatives, including electron-deficient, ortho-substituted and heteroaryl variants. This protocol complements alternative routes to terminal alcohols that rely on stoichiometric reduction and oxidation processes. The utility of this method is demonstrated through multigram scale reactions and its use in a two-step hydration/cyclization process of ortho-halogenated styrenes to prepare 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran derivatives.

The base-catalyzed addition of 1-cyclopropylethanol to vinyl (hetero)arenes sequenced with an acidic reaction workup enables anti-Markovnikov hydration in a complementary fashion to traditional hydroboration/oxidation protocols.

Synthesis and applications of a light-fluorous glycosyl donor

A new method using a light-fluorous glycosyl donor and an orthogonal tagging strategy to synthesize oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates has been developed. The glycosyl donor orthogonally protected with a C8F17-silyl tag and benzoyl groups was reacted with excess amounts of glycosyl acceptor. Fluorous solid-phase extraction separated the glycosylated product and unreacted glycosyl acceptor. This new protocol has high reaction efficiency and easy separation, which was demonstrated in the synthesis of an unprotected trisaccharide and an O-glycosylated serine in this paper.

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: an update covering the period 2001-2002

This review is the second update of the original review on the application of MALDI mass spectrometry to the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates that was published in 1999. It covers fundamental aspects of the technique as applied to carbohydrates, fragmentation of carbohydrates, studies of specific carbohydrate types such as those from plant cell walls and those attached to proteins and lipids, studies of glycosyl-transferases and glycosidases, and studies where MALDI has been used to monitor products of chemical synthesis. Use of the technique shows a steady annual increase at the expense of older techniques such as FAB. There is an increasing emphasis on its use for examination of biological systems rather than on studies of fundamental aspects and method development and this is reflected by much of the work on applications appearing in tabular form.

A selective Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed trialkylsilyl ether to acetyl ester exchange reaction with β-l-idopyranoside and 3,4-O-isopropylidene-β-d-galactopyranoside derivatives

The selective silylation of monosaccharide building blocks is useful for preparing complex oligosaccharides. We now report that the diol, methyl (dimethylthexylsilyl 3-O-pivaloyl-beta-L-idopyranosyl)uronate, can be selectively silylated at the O-2 position by trialkylsilyl triflates. After protection of O-4, the O-2 silyl group can be selectively replaced by acetate by taking advantage of a trialkylsilyl-acetate exchange reaction catalyzed by Sc(OTf)3 in the presence of acetic anhydride. The high O-2 selectivity is shown for triethylsilyl (TES), tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS), and triisopropylsilyl (TIPS). The selective cleavage reaction only worked well for TES and TBS derivatives. A selection of silyl triflates and silyl chlorides were used as silylating reagents with ethyl 3,4-O-isopropylidene-1-thio-beta-D-galactopyranoside. In most cases, silylation afforded 2,6-di-O-silylated products in high yields. Studies on the cleavage reaction showed that only the primary silylated protecting groups were replaced by acetyl groups. This reaction worked with a variety of silyl protecting groups but not the tert-butyldiphenylsilyl (TBDPS) protecting group. Unfortunately, the 1-thioethyl group was also sensitive to the Sc(OTf)3, leading in these conditions to alpha/beta mixtures of the 1-acetates, which compromised the synthetic utility of this reaction for these compounds. The sequence presented here is a useful synthetic route to differentially protected L-iduronic acid building blocks.

Rapid Oligosaccharide Synthesis Using a Fluorous Protective Group

The Bfp-OH, a novel fluorous protecting reagent, was able to be easily prepared. The Bfp group was readily introduced to a carbohydrate, removed in high yield, and recyclable after cleavage. The use of the Bfp group made it possible to synthesize a pentasaccharide by minimal column chromatography purification. Each synthetic intermediate was able to be easily purified only by simple fluorous-organic solvent extraction and monitored by TLC, NMR, and MS.

I, Obuchowska A, Krepinsky JJ. Is acyl migration to the aglycon avoidable in 2-acyl assisted glycosylation reactions?

This report unequivocally separates orthoester formation from acyl transfer for the first time and indicates possible routes to eliminate 2-O-acyl transfer during glycosylation reactions. Experimental evidence is shown that acyl transfer from 2-O-acyl-3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-D-galactopyranose-derived glycosyl donors decreases in the order formyl > acetyl > pivaloyl. The 2-O-benzoyl derivatives are more variable, in some cases transferring easily, and in others not at all. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the structure and energetics of dioxolenium ion and related intermediates suggest that a proton transfer pathway from the nucleophile to O-2 provides an explanation for the observed trends. These DFT calculations of the proton transfer pathway support a mechanism in which a relay molecule is involved. Further DFT calculations used a constraint based on linear combinations of six bond lengths to establish the sequence of bond breaking and bond forming. The calculated anomeric carbon to former carbonyl oxygen bond that breaks during acyl transfer is the longest in the formyl case and shortest in those that exhibit little or no acyl transfer. Rotation about the aromatic to carbonyl Ph—C(=O) bond is different from the alkyl series. Analysis of this proposed TS led to the postulate that 2,6-substitution may hinder rotation even more. Thus, the 2,6-dimethylbenzoyl analogue was synthesized and it does not transfer directly or by rearrangement of its readily formed orthoester. DFT calculations suggested that 2,6-dimethoxybenzoyl should also not transfer easily. Experimentally, this proved to be the case and this new 2-O-acyl protecting group cleaves at 50 °C with a 1 mol/L solution of LiOH in methanol. Thus, a calculated transition state has led to a prototype of a protecting group that solves a major problem in oligosaccharide synthesis.Key words: glycosylation, carbohydrates, quantum chemistry, reaction mechanism, neighboring-group effects.

Simplifying oligosaccharide synthesis: efficient synthesis of lactosamine and siaylated lactosamine oligosaccharide donors

A practical sequence is described for converting d-glucosamine into peracetylated Gal(beta-1,4)GlcNTroc(beta1-S)Ph and Neu5Ac(alpha-2,3)Gal(beta-1,4)GlcNTroc(beta1-S)Ph building blocks using a synthetic strategy based on chemoenzymatic oligosaccharide synthesis. The known trichloroethoxycarbonyl, N-Troc, protecting group was selected as a suitable protecting group for both enzymatic and chemical reaction conditions. These oligosaccharide building blocks proved effective donors for the beta-selective glycosylation of the unreactive OH-3 of a polymeric PEG-bound acceptor and for the axial OH-2 of a mannose acceptor in good yields. The resulting complex oligosaccharides are useful for vaccine and pharmaceutical applications.

Can the stereochemical outcome of glycosylation reactions be controlled by the conformational preferences of the glycosyl donor?

Previous static and dynamical density functional theory studies of the 2,6-di-O-acetyl-3,4-O-isopropylidene-D-galactopyranosyl cations and their methanol adducts has led to an hypothesis that these cations exist in two families of conformers characterized as (2)S(O) and B(2,5), respectively. These families differ by ring inversion, each with its own reactivity. New calculations on the 2,6-di-O-acetyl-3,4-di-O-methyl-D-galactopyranosyl cation confirmed these trends. Removing the isopropylidene group allows more flexibility, but two families of conformers can be discerned with the monocyclic oxocarbenium ions in the E(3) conformation and the bicyclic dioxolenium ions in the (4)H(5) conformation. Attack on the beta-face of these monocyclic cations is favored by hydrogen bonding and the anomeric effect. The experimentally observed high beta-stereoselectivity of mannopyranosyl donors and high alpha-stereoselectivity of glucopyranosyl donors with the 4,6-O-benzylidene protecting groups can be rationalized assuming that the trans-fused 1,3-dioxane ring allows population of only one family of conformers. The combination of hydrogen bonding and conformational changes of the pyranose ring in response to the C-5[bond]O-5[bond]C-1[bond]C-2 torsion angle changes are identified as key factors in stereoselectivity. Based on these observations a strategy to design face discriminated glycosyl donors that exist predominantly in only one family of conformers is proposed.