1,5-Hydrogen Atom Transfer/Surzur-Tanner Rearrangement: A Radical Cascade Approach for the Synthesis of 1,6-Dioxaspiro[4.5]decane and 6,8-Dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane Scaffolds in Carbohydrate Systems

PolyBorylated Alkenes as Energy-Transfer Reactive Groups: Access to Multi-Borylated Cyclobutanes Combined with Hydrogen Atom Transfer Event

While polyborylated alkenes are being recognized for their elevated status as highly valuable reagents in modern organic synthesis, allowing efficient access to a diverse array of transformations, including the formation of C-C and C-heteroatom bonds, their potential as energy-transfer reactive groups has remained unexplored. Yet, this potential holds the key to generating elusive polyborylated biradical species, which can be captured by olefins, thereby leading to the construction of new highly-borylated scaffolds. Herein, we report a designed energy-transfer strategy for photosensitized [2+2]-cycloadditions of poly-borylated alkenes with various olefins enabling the regioselective synthesis of diverse poly-borylated cyclobutane motifs, including the 1,1-di-, 1,1,2-tri-, and 1,1,2,2-tetra-borylated cyclobutanes. In fact, these compounds belong to a family that presently lacks efficient synthetic pathways. Interestingly, when α-methylstyrene was used, the reaction involves an interesting 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). Mechanistic deuterium-labeling studies have provided insight into the outcome of 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer process. In addition, the polyborylated cyclobutanes are then demonstrated to be useful in selective oxidation processes resulting in the formation of cyclobutanones and γ-lactones.

Transformations of carbohydrate derivatives enabled by photocatalysis and visible light photochemistry

This review article highlights the diverse ways in which recent developments in the areas of photocatalysis and visible light photochemistry are impacting synthetic carbohydrate chemistry. The major topics covered are photocatalytic glycosylations, generation of radicals at the anomeric position, transformations involving radical formation at non-anomeric positions, additions to glycals, processes initiated by photocatalytic hydrogen atom transfer from sugars, and functional group interconversions at OH and SH groups. Factors influencing stereo- and site-selectivity in these processes, along with mechanistic aspects, are discussed.

Exploiting photoredox catalysis for carbohydrate modification through C–H and C–C bond activation

Photoredox catalysis has recently emerged as a powerful synthetic platform for accessing complex chemical structures through non-traditional bond disconnection strategies that proceed through free-radical intermediates. Such synthetic strategies have been used for a range of organic transformations; however, in carbohydrate chemistry they have primarily been applied to the generation of oxocarbenium ion intermediates in the ubiquitous glycosylation reaction. In this Review, we present more intricate light-induced synthetic strategies to modify native carbohydrates through homolytic C-H and C-C bond cleavage. These strategies allow access to glycans and glycoconjugates with profoundly altered carbohydrate skeletons, which are challenging to obtain through conventional synthetic means. Carbohydrate derivatives with such structural motifs represent a broad class of natural products integral to numerous biochemical processes and can be found in active pharmaceutical substances. Here we present progress made in C-H and C-C bond activation of carbohydrates through photoredox catalysis, focusing on the operational mechanisms and the scope of the described methodologies.