Prevalence of Oxetanose Forms in the Tautomeric Equilibrium of β-Hydroxy-1,5-dicarbonyl Monosaccharides

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of New Glycoconjugated LDH Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents

Conjugation of known biologically active molecules to carbohydrate frameworks represents a valuable option for the preparation of hybrid, structurally-related families of compounds with the aim of modulating their biological response. Therefore, we present here a study on the preparation of d-galacto, d-manno, d-gluco, and d-lactose glycoconjugates of an established N-hydroxyindole-based (NHI) inhibitor of lactated dehydrogenase (LDH). Structural variations involved the sugar stereochemistry and size as well as the anchoring point of the NHI on the carbohydrate frame (either C-1 or C-6). In the case of the galactose anomeric glycoconjugate (C-1), intriguing solvent-dependent effects were observed in the glycosylation stereochemical outcome. The biological activity of the deprotected glycoconjugates in contrasting lactate formation and cancer cell proliferation are described.

Synthesis and investigation of polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine derivatives as novel chemotypes showing dual activity as glucosidase and aldose reductase inhibitors

Diabetes is a multi-factorial disorder that should be treated with multi-effective compounds. Here we describe the access to polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines, belonging to the d-gluco and d-galacto series, through aminocyclization reactions of two differentially protected d-xylo-hexos-4-ulose derivatives. The prepared compounds proved to inhibit both alpha-glucosidase, responsible for the emergence of hyperglycemic spikes, and aldose reductase, accountable for the development of abnormalities in diabetic tissues. Accordingly, they show the dual inhibitory profile deemed as ideal for diabetes treatment. Significantly, compound 17b reduced the process of cell death and restored the physiological levels of oxidative stress when tested in the photoreceptor-like 661w cell line, thus proving to be effective in an in vitro model of diabetic retinopathy.

Selectively Charged and Zwitterionic Analogues of the Smallest Immunogenic Structure of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Type 14

Zwitterionic polysaccharides (ZPs) have been shown in recent years to display peculiar immunological properties, thus attracting the interest of the carbohydrate research community. To fully elucidate the mechanisms underlying these properties and exploit the potential of this kind of structures, in depth studies are still required. In this context, the preparation of two cationic, an anionic, as well as two zwitterionic tetrasaccharide analogues of the smallest immunogenic structure of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 14 (SP14) capsular polysaccharide are presented. By exploiting a block strategy, the negative charge has been installed on the non-reducing end of the lactose unit of the tetrasaccharide and the positive charge either on the non-reducing end of the lactosamine moiety or on an external linker. These structures have then been tested by competitive ELISA, showing that the structural variations we made do not modify the affinity of the neutral compound to binding to a specific antibody. However, lower efficacies than the natural SP14 compound were observed. The results obtained, although promising, point to the need to further elongate the polysaccharide structure, which is likely too short to cover the entire epitopes.

Preparation of 1,6-di-deoxy-d-galacto and 1,6-di-deoxy-l-altro nojirimycin derivatives by aminocyclization of a 1,5-dicarbonyl derivative

Iminosugars are known glycosidase inhibitors which are the subject of drug development efforts against several diseases. The access to structurally-related families of iminosugars is of primary importance for running structure-activity relationship studies. In this work, the double reductive amination (aminocyclization) reaction of a dicarbonyl derivative of the l-arabino series, in turn obtained from lactose, is reported. Different ratios of 1,6-di-deoxy-d-galacto and 1,6-di-deoxy-l-altro nojirimycin derivatives were obtained depending on the amine employed in this transformation which provided an insight into the effects of their structure on the outcome of the reaction. Of particular interest were the results obtained when two enantiomeric amino acids (d-Phe-OMe and l-Phe-OMe) were used, which resulted in the inversion of the reaction stereoselectivity.

Exploring and exploiting different catalytic systems for the direct conversion of cellulose into levulinic acid

The single step conversion of cellulose into levulinic acid has been studied under hydrothermal conditions with several catalytic systems.

Synthesis and conformational analysis of a simplified inositol-model of the Streptococcus pneumoniae 19F capsular polysaccharide repeating unit

Carbohydrate mimics have been studied for a long time as useful sugar substitutes, both in the investigation of biological events and in the treatment of sugar-related diseases. Here we report further evaluation of the capabilities of inositols as carbohydrate substitutes. The conformational features of an inositol-model of a simplified repeating unit corresponding to the capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae 19F has been evaluated by computational analysis, and compared to the native repeating unit. The inositol mimic was synthesized, and its experimental spectroscopic data allowed for verification of the theoretical results.

Square sugars: challenges and synthetic strategies

The synthesis of square sugars requires innovative strategies based on efficient stereoselective methodologies, from organocatalysis to metal carbene insertion.

5'-Spiro-cyclopropanated lactose derivatives as suitable intermediates for the chain elongation: synthesis of a new 6-deoxy-6-methyl δ-eptulose

A δ-dicarbonyl heptose has been prepared through an electrophilic ring opening procedure of a 5'-spirocyclopropanated lactose derivative. The reported synthetic procedure outlines a new route for the transformation of this renewable disaccharide into new and interesting δ-dicarbonyl sugars, synthetic precursors of cyclitols, carba- and azasugars. The experimental results of the cyclopropanation process have been successfully rationalized by in silico studies.

Enhanced semiempirical QM methods for biomolecular interactions

Recent successes and failures of the application of 'enhanced' semiempirical QM (SQM) methods are reviewed in the light of the benefits and backdraws of adding dispersion (D) and hydrogen-bond (H) correction terms. We find that the accuracy of SQM-DH methods for non-covalent interactions is very often reported to be comparable to dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D), while computation times are about three orders of magnitude lower. SQM-DH methods thus open up a possibility to simulate realistically large model systems for problems both in life and materials science with comparably high accuracy.

Stereoselective synthesis of β-d-GlcNAc-(1→4)-D-Glc disaccharide starting from lactose

The stereoselective preparation of the β-d-GlcNAc-(1→4)-D-Glc disaccharide starting from known 4-O-[6-O-(1-methoxy-1-methylethyl)-3,4-O-isopropylidene-β-d-talopyranosyl]-2,3:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-aldehydo-D-glucose dimethyl acetal (2), in turn easily obtained from lactose, is reported. Key steps of this new procedure, that avoids the glycosylation reaction, are (a) a first epimerization at C-4' through an unusual procedure involving a completely stereospecific hydroboration-oxidation of the enol ether group of the hex-4-enopyranoside 4, obtained from 3 by base promoted acetone elimination, (b) an amination with inversion by S(N)2 reaction on an imidazylate intermediate, and, finally, (c) N-acetylation followed by complete deprotection.