: A mild reagent for the regioselective reductive ring opening of benzylidene acetals in carbohydrates

One-Pot Glycosylation Strategy Assisted by Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Analysis toward the Synthesis of N-Linked Oligosaccharides

N-Glycans are major constituents of several cellular glycoproteins. One-pot strategies for the synthesis of N-glycans are crucial for the rapid generation of pure samples to determine their biological functions. Herein, we describe a double one-pot strategy for the synthesis of N-glycans assisted by an IM-MS analysis approach for rapid screening of optimized glycosylation reaction conditions. This research includes triflate-mediated direct β-mannosylation and tandem glycosylation in a one-pot strategy for the synthesis of the challenging N-linked trisaccharide core β-5. Furthermore, a one-pot sequential glycosylation of the N-linked trisaccharide core 7 furnishes diverse high-mannose type N-glycans with excellent stereo- and regioselectivities. In particular, ion mobility-mass spectrometry-based quantitative analysis is applied to identify the stereo- and regioselective outcomes of the crude reaction mixtures to develop a highly efficient one-pot protocol.

Regioselective Reductive Opening of Benzylidene Acetals with Dichlorophenylborane/Triethylsilane: Previously Unreported Side Reactions and How to Prevent Them

Arylidene acetals are widely used protecting groups, because of not only the high regioselectivity of their introduction but also the possibility of performing further regioselective reductive opening in the presence of a hydride donor and an acid catalyst. In this context, the Et₃SiH/PhBCl₂ system presents several advantages: silanes are efficient, environmentally benign, and user-friendly hydride donors, while PhBCl₂ opens the way to unique regioselectivity with regard to all other Brønsted or Lewis acids used with silanes. This system has been extensively used by several groups, and we have demonstrated its high regioselectivity in the reductive opening of 4,6- and 2,4-O-p-methoxybenzylidene moieties in protected disaccharides. Surprisingly, its use on 4,6-O-benzylidene-containing substrates 1 and 2 led to unreproducible yields due to the unexpected formation of several side products. Their characterizations allowed us to identify different pitfalls potentially affecting the outcome of reductive opening of arylidenes with the Et₃SiH/PhBCl₂ reagent system: alkene hydroboration, azide reduction, and/or Lewis acid-promoted cleavage of the arylidene. With this knowledge, we optimized reproducible and high-yielding reaction conditions that secure and extend the scope of the Et₃SiH/PhBCl₂ system as a reagent for the regioselective opening of arylidenes in complex and multifunctional molecules.

Experimental observations on the reductive cleavage of endo and exo 3,4-O-benzylidene fucopyranoside derivatives

Reductive cleavage of methyl 3,4-O-benzylidene-α-L-fucopyranosides with BH3·THF-TfOH and NaCNBH3-TfOH systems resulted in enhanced reaction rates and selectivity compared to BH3·THF-Bu2BOTf. With this latter system, the nature of the O-2 substituent exerted a clear control on the reactivity but practically did not affect the regioselectivity. With TfOH the direction of cleavage was determined, as expected, by the configuration of the acetal carbon atom, but slightly influenced by its competitive epimerization. Protic conditions provided higher regioselectivity in the openings of the exo isomers, affording a useful approach to the practical synthesis of 3-O-benzyl ethers.

Convergent Synthesis of Branched β-Glucan Tridecasaccharides Ready for Conjugation

Structurally defined and pure oligosaccharides corresponding to β-glucans have attracted great attention because of their potential properties as immunostimulating agents and as antigens of vaccine candidates. We herein describe a convergent synthesis of ready-to-conjugate tridecasaccharides composed of a β-1,3-glucan nonasaccharide backbone and a β-1,6-glucan tetrasaccharide branch. The assembly was achieved by employing trichloroacetimidate glycosylations and features the gram-scale preparation of the nonasaccharide backbone and installation of the tetrasaccharide branch involving orthoester rearrangement to the glycoside.

Total Synthesis of (+)-Polyoxamic Acid via Visible-Light-Mediated Photocatalytic β-Scission and 1,5-Hydrogen Atom Transfer of Glucose Derivative

A total synthesis of polyoxamic acid has been achieved. The key feature of the synthetic route is a visible-light-mediated β-scission and carbon-to-carbon 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer (1,5-HAT) to provide the functionalized alditol under mild conditions. This type of carbon-to-carbon 1,5-HAT initiated by C(sp³)-centered radicals has been scarcely reported. Furthermore, the reaction was adapted for flow chemistry, facilitating the total synthesis of polyoxamic acid.

Ionic Liquid Catalyzed Per-O-Acetylation and Benzylidene Ring-Opening Reaction

Tunable aryl imidazolium ionic liquids acting as Brønsted acid ionic liquids were found to be efficient catalysts for per-O-acetylation and reductive ring opening of benzylidene acetals. This method requires a truly catalytic amount of the least expensive available ionic liquids that are water-stable and reusable and also stable at room temperature. The reactions were obtained in one hour with good to excellent yields. These reactions can form C−O and C−H bonds with a high atom economy. Furthermore, the ionic liquid is an anomeric selective catalyst in per-O-acetylation and reductive ring opening of benzylidene acetals of sugar moieties.

Synthesis of carbohydrate building blocks via regioselective uniform protection/deprotection strategies

Discussed herein is the synthesis of partially protected carbohydrates by manipulating only one type of a protecting group for a given substrate. The first focus of this review is the uniform protection of an unprotected starting material in a way that only one (or two) hydroxyl group remains unprotected. The second focus involves regioselective partial deprotection of uniformly protected compounds in a way that only one (or two) hydroxyl group becomes liberated.

"One-Pot" Protection, Glycosylation, and Protection-Glycosylation Strategies of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates, which are ubiquitously distributed throughout the three domains of life, play significant roles in a variety of vital biological processes. Access to unique and homogeneous carbohydrate materials is important to understand their physical properties, biological functions, and disease-related features. It is difficult to isolate carbohydrates in acceptable purity and amounts from natural sources. Therefore, complex saccharides with well-defined structures are often most conviently accessed through chemical syntheses. Two major hurdles, regioselective protection and stereoselective glycosylation, are faced by carbohydrate chemists in synthesizing these highly complicated molecules. Over the past few years, there has been a radical change in tackling these problems and speeding up the synthesis of oligosaccharides. This is largely due to the development of one-pot protection, one-pot glycosylation, and one-pot protection-glycosylation protocols and streamlined approaches to orthogonally protected building blocks, including those from rare sugars, that can be used in glycan coupling. In addition, new automated strategies for oligosaccharide syntheses have been reported not only for program-controlled assembly on solid support but also by the stepwise glycosylation in solution phase. As a result, various sugar molecules with highly complex, large structures could be successfully synthesized. To summarize these recent advances, this review describes the methodologies for one-pot protection and their one-pot glycosylation into the complex glycans and the chronological developments associated with automated syntheses of oligosaccharides.

Synthesis of Two Tetrasaccharide Pentenyl Glycosides Related to the Pectic Rhamnogalacturonan I Polysaccharide

The synthesis of two protected tetrasaccharide pentenyl glycosides with diarabinan and digalactan branching related to the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan I is reported. The strategy relies on the coupling of N-phenyl trifluoroacetimidate disaccharide donors to a common rhamnosyl acceptor. The resulting trisaccharide thioglycosides were finally coupled to an n-pentenyl galactoside acceptor to access the two protected branched tetrasaccharides.

Structure-Based Design and Synthesis of Apramycin-Paromomycin Analogues: Importance of the Configuration at the 6'-Position and Differences between the 6'-Amino and Hydroxy Series

The preparation of a series of four analogues of the aminoglycoside antibiotics neomycin and paromomycin is described in which ring I, involved in critical binding interactions with the ribosomal target, is replaced by an apramycin-like dioxabicyclo[4.4.0]octane system. The effect of this modification is to lock the hydroxymethyl side chain of the neomycin or paromomycin ring I, as part of the dioxabicyclooctane ring, into either the gauche-gauche or the gauche-trans conformation (respectively, axial or equatorial to the bicyclic system). The antiribosomal activity of these compounds is investigated with cell-free translation assays using both bacterial ribosomes and recombinant hybrid ribosomes carrying eukaryotic decoding A site cassettes. Compounds substituted with an equatorial hydroxyl or amino group in the newly formed ring are considerably more active than their axial diastereomers, lending strong support to crystallographically derived models of aminoglycoside-ribosome interactions. One such bicyclic compound carrying an equatorial hydroxyl group has activity equal to that of the parent yet displays better ribosomal selectivity, predictive of an enhanced therapeutic index. A paromomycin analog lacking the hydroxymethyl ring I side chain is considerably less active than the parent. Antibacterial activity against model Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria is reported for selected compounds, as is activity against ESKAPE pathogens and recombinant bacteria carrying specific resistance determinants. Analogues with a bicyclic ring I carrying equatorial amino or hydroxyl groups mimicking the bound side chains of neomycin and paromomycin, respectively, show excellent activity and, by virtue of their novel structure, retain this activity in strains that are insensitive to the parent compounds.

Synthesis and immunochemical evaluation of a novel Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A tetrasaccharide and its conjugate

A tetrameric repeating unit of capsular polysaccharide of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A was synthesized which mimicked natural polysaccharide in immunochemical analysis.

Synthesis of building blocks for an iterative approach towards oligomers of the Streptococcus pneumoniae type 1 zwitterionic capsular polysaccharide repeating unit

Zwitterionic capsular polysaccharide extracts, ∼8 kDa in mass, from Streptococcus pneumoniae type 1 (Spt1) have shown unique T-cell activating properties. Oligomers of the trisaccharide repeating unit of the Spt1 capsular polysaccharide [→3)-4-NH2-α-d-QuipNAc-(1→4)-α-d-GalpA-(1→3)-α-d-GalpA-(1-]n of defined length are needed to further investigate this response. An approach towards iteratively extendable trisaccharide building blocks of the zwitterionic capsular polysaccharides of Spt1 is described. Key elements include the comparison of pre-glycosylation oxidation and post-glycosylation oxidation approaches using thioglycoside donors to the target trisaccharide, the optimisation of the post-glycosylation oxidation approach, and the conversion of the trisaccharide to building blocks tailored for iterative glycosylation. The construction and evaluation of stereotunable 2-N-3-O-oxazolidinone donors for the common bacterial 2-acetamido-4-amino-2,4,6-trideoxy-α-d-galactopyranoside motif is also described, as is a key intermediate for their efficient synthesis.

Automated fluorous-assisted solution-phase synthesis of β-1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,6-mannan oligomers

Automated solution-phase syntheses of β-1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,6-mannan oligomers have been accomplished by applying a β-directing C-5 carboxylate strategy. Fluorous-tag-assisted purification after each reaction cycle allowed the synthesis of short β-mannan oligomers with limited loading of glycosyl donor-as low as 3.0 equivalents for each glycosylation cycle. This study showed the capability of the automated solution-phase synthesis protocol for synthesizing various challenging glycosides, including use of a C-5 ester as a protecting group that could be converted under reductive conditions to a hydroxymethyl group for chain extension.

Automated Solution-Phase Synthesis of Insect Glycans to Probe the Binding Affinity of Pea Enation Mosaic Virus

Pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV)--a plant RNA virus transmitted exclusively by aphids--causes disease in multiple food crops. However, the aphid-virus interactions required for disease transmission are poorly understood. For virus transmission, PEMV binds to a heavily glycosylated receptor aminopeptidase N in the pea aphid gut and is transcytosed across the gut epithelium into the aphid body cavity prior to release in saliva as the aphid feeds. To investigate the role of glycans in PEMV-aphid interactions and explore the possibility of viral control through blocking a glycan interaction, we synthesized insect N-glycan terminal trimannosides by automated solution-phase synthesis. The route features a mannose building block with C-5 ester enforcing a β-linkage, which also provides a site for subsequent chain extension. The resulting insect N-glycan terminal trimannosides with fluorous tags were used in a fluorous microarray to analyze binding with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled PEMV; however, no specific binding between the insect glycan and PEMV was detected. To confirm these microarray results, we removed the fluorous tag from the trimannosides for isothermal titration calorimetry studies with unlabeled PEMV. The ITC studies confirmed the microarray results and suggested that this particular glycan-PEMV interaction is not involved in virus uptake and transport through the aphid.

Synthesis of a Glucuronic Acid-Containing Thioglycoside Trisaccharide Building Block and Its Use in the Assembly of Cryptococcus Neoformans Capsular Polysaccharide Fragments

As part of an ongoing project aimed at identifying protective capsular polysaccharide epitopes for the development of vaccine candidates against the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, the synthesis and glycosylation properties of a naphthalenylmethyl (NAP) orthogonally protected trisaccharide thioglycoside, a common building block for construction of serotype B and C capsular polysaccharide structures, were investigated. Ethyl (benzyl 2,3,4‐tri‐O‐benzyl‐β‐d‐glucopyranosyl‐ uronate)‐(1→2)‐[2,3,4‐tri‐O‐benzyl‐β‐d‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)]‐6‐O‐benzyl‐3‐O‐(2‐naphthalenylmethyl)‐1‐thio‐α‐d‐mannopyranoside was prepared and used both as a donor and an acceptor in glycosylation reactions to obtain spacer equipped hexa‐ and heptasaccharide structures suitable either for continued elongation or for deprotection and printing onto a glycan array or conjugation to a carrier protein. The glycosylation reactions proceeded with high yields and α‐selectivity, proving the viability of the building block approach also for construction of 4‐O‐xylosyl‐containing C. neoformans CPS structures.

A synthetic strategy to xylose-containing thioglycoside tri- and tetrasaccharide building blocks corresponding to Cryptococcus neoformans capsular polysaccharide structures

C. neoformansthiosaccharide building blocks were prepared and their conversion to glycosyl acceptors as well as use as glycosyl donors investigated.

Chemical approach for the syntheses of GM4 isomers with sialic acid to non-natural linkage positions on galactose

Cell-surface glycans containing sialic acid are involved in various biological phenomena. However, the syntheses of GM4 derivatives with (2 → 2) and (2 → 4) linkages have not been investigated to date. In this study, sialylation of all of the hydroxyl groups on galactose were investigated for the syntheses of GM4 isomers. Regioselective sialylation was achieved via protection of galactosyl acceptors using electron-rich benzyl groups. These synthetic sialylated glycans will prove to be useful tools for studying unidentified carbohydrate-mediated biological roles.

Efficient synthesis of a library of heparin tri- and tetrasaccharides relevant to the substrate of heparanase

A robust glycosylation protocol was fixed to construct the GlcN–(1α→4)-GlcA/IdoA linkagesen routeto heparin oligosaccharides.

A carbohydrate-based approach for the total synthesis of (-)-dinemasone B, (+)-4a-epi-dinemasone B, (-)-7-epi-dinemasone B, and (+)-4a,7-Di-epi-dinemasone B

(-)-Dinemasone B was isolated by Krohn and co-workers from a culture of the endophytic fungus Dinemasporium strigosum and has shown promising antimicrobial activity. Described herein is the first total synthesis of (-)-dinemasone B, (+)-4a-epi-dinemasone B, (-)-7-epi-dinemasone B, and (+)-4a,7-di-epi-dinemasone B. Their absolute configurations were also determined. The developed synthesis features a stereoselective reduction of C-glycosidic ketone, lactonization, and E-olefination of aldehyde starting from D-glucose.

Solid-Phase Synthesis of 2-Aminoethyl Glucosamine Sulfoforms

Mono- and disaccharides of sulfonated glucosamines (GlcN sulfoforms) conjugated to 2-aminoethyl linkers were generated by solid-phase synthesis. Orthogonally protected intermediates were tethered onto tritylated polystyrene resin beads, subjected to a modular sequence of deprotection and sulfonation steps, then cleaved from solid support without degradation of N- or O-sulfate esters using solvolytic conditions, and finally purified by reverse-phase HPLC to afford the title compounds.

Synthesis of fluorinated maltose derivatives for monitoring protein interaction by (19)F NMR

A novel reporter system, which is applicable to the ¹⁹F NMR investigation of protein interactions, is presented. This approach uses 2-F-labeled maltose as a spy ligand to indirectly probe protein–ligand or protein–protein interactions of proteins fused or tagged to the maltose-binding protein (MBP). The key feature is the simultaneous NMR observation of both ¹⁹F NMR signals of gluco/manno-type-2-F-maltose-isomers; one isomer (α-gluco-type) binds to MBP and senses the protein interaction, and the nonbinding isomers (β-gluco- and/or α/β-manno-type) are utilized as internal references. Moreover, this reporter system was used for relative affinity studies of fluorinated and nonfluorinated carbohydrates to the maltose-binding protein, which were found to be in perfect agreement with published X-ray data. The results of the NMR competition experiments together with the established correlation between ¹⁹F chemical shift data and molecular interaction patterns, suggest valuable applications for studies of protein–ligand interaction interfaces.

Design and synthesis of a "click" high-mannose oligosaccharide mimic emulating Man8 binding affinity towards Con A

A dendritic "click" mannooligomer mimicking the high-mannose oligosaccharide Man(8) has been designed by replacing some of the inner mannopyranosyl subunits with triazole moieties; evaluation of its binding affinity towards the mannose-specific lectin concanavalin A revealed striking similarities between the "click" mimic and the natural Man(8).

A fluorous phosphate protecting group with applications to carbohydrate synthesis

The first fluorous protecting group for phosphate is reported. This group can be used as a facile tag for purification and be removed under mild reducing conditions using zinc and ammonium formate. Synthesis of a disaccharide from Leishmania using this fluorous protecting group demonstrated the group's stability to the acidic conditions necessary for glycosylation as well as its orthogonality to several other common protecting groups.

Synthesis of 6-PEtN-α-D-GalpNAc-(1->6)-β-D-Galp-(1->4)-β-D-GlcpNAc-(1->3)-β-D-Galp-(1->4)-β-D-Glcp, a Haemophilus influenzae lipopolysacharide structure, and biotin and protein conjugates thereof

BACKGROUND

In bacteria with truncated lipopolysaccharide structures, i.e., lacking the O-antigen polysaccharide part, core structures are exposed to the immune system upon infection and thus their use as carbohydrate surface antigens in glycoconjugate vaccines can be considered and investigated. One such suggested structure from Haemophilus influenzae LPS is the phosphorylated pentasaccharide 6-PEtN-α-D-GalpNAc-(1→6)-β-D-Galp-(1→4)-β-D-GlcpNAc-(1→3)-β-D-Galp-(1→4)-β-D-Glcp.

RESULTS

Starting from a spacer-containing lactose derivative a suitably protected lacto-N-neotetraose tetrasaccharide structure was constructed through subsequential couplings with two thioglycoside donors, a glucosamine residue followed by a galactose derivative, using NIS/AgOTf as promoter. Removal of a silyl protecting group at the primary position of the non-reducing end residue afforded an acceptor to which the terminal α-galactosamine moiety was introduced using a 2-azido bromo sugar and halide assisted coupling conditions. Global deprotection afforded the non-phosphorylated target pentasaccharide, whereas removal of a silyl group from the primary position of the non-reducing end residue produced a free hydroxy group which was phosphorylated using H-phosphonate chemistry to yield the phosphoethanolamine-containing protected pentasaccharide. Partial deprotection afforded the phosphorylated target pentasaccharide with a free spacer amino group but with a protected phosphoethanolamino group. Conjugation of the spacer amino group to biotin or dimethyl squarate followed by deprotection of the phosphoethanolamino group and, in the case of the squarate derivative, further reaction with a protein then afforded the title conjugates.

CONCLUSION

An effective synthesis of a biologically interesting pentasaccharide structure has been accomplished. The target pentasaccharide, an α-GalNAc substituted lacto-N-neotetraose structure, comprises a phosphoethanolamine motif and a spacer aglycon. Through the spacer, biotin and protein conjugates of the title compound have been constructed to allow further use in biological experiments.