Synthesis of a 3-Thiomannoside

Levoglucosenone: Bio-Based Platform for Drug Discovery

Levoglucosone (LGO) is a bio-privileged molecule that can be produced on scale from waste biomass. This chiral building block has been converted via well-established chemical processes into previously difficult-to-synthesize building blocks such as enantiopure butenolides, dihydropyrans, substituted cyclopropanes, deoxy-sugars and ribonolactones. LGO is an excellent starting material for the synthesis of biologically active compounds, including those which have anti-cancer, anti-microbial or anti-inflammatory activity. This review will cover the conversion of LGO to biologically active compounds as well as provide future research directions related to this platform molecule.

Tetrathiomolybdate and Tetraselenotungstate as Sulfur/Selenium Transfer Reagents: Applications in the Synthesis of New Thio/Seleno Sugars

Sulfur and selenium containing sugars have gained prominence in the last two decades because of their importance in several biological applications. These type of carbohydrate scaffolds are also challenging targets for synthesis. In this personal note, we have summarised the results of our investigation over the last 20 years on the use of two reagents, benzyltriethylammonium tetrathiomolybdate and tetraethylammonium tetraselenotungstate, in efficient transfer of sulfur and selenium respectively to the synthesis of a number of carbohydrate derivatives.

SnCl4-catalyzed solvent-free acetolysis of 2,7-anhydrosialic acid derivatives

Sialic acid-containing glycans are found in different sialic acid forms and a variety of glycosidic linkages in biologically active glycoconjugates. Hence, the preparation of suitably protected sialyl building blocks requires high attention in order to access glycans in a pure form. In line with this, various C-5-substituted 2,7-anhydrosialic acid derivatives bearing both electron-donating and -withdrawing protecting groups were synthesized and subjected to different Lewis acid-catalyzed solvent-free ring-opening reactions at room temperature in the presence of acetic anhydride. Among the various Lewis acids tested, the desired acetolysis products were obtained in moderate yields under tin(IV) chloride catalysis. Our methodology could be extended to regioselective protecting group installations and manipulations towards a number of thiosialoside and halide donors.

Mechanistic insight into the acid-catalyzed isomerization of biomass-derived polysubstituted pyrrolidines: an experimental and DFT study

The mechanism of the acid-catalyzed isomerization of polysubstituted pyrrolidines was unravelled by a combination of experimental, spectroscopic and computational studies.