C-Glycosylation enabled by N-(glycosyloxy)acetamides

Friedel-Crafts reactions for biomolecular chemistry

Chemical tools and principles have become central to biological and medical research/applications by leveraging a range of classical organic chemistry reactions. Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation are arguably some of the most well-known and used synthetic methods for the preparation of small molecules but their use in biological and medical fields is relatively less frequent than the other reactions, possibly owing to the notion of their plausible incompatibility with biological systems. This review demonstrates advances in Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions in a variety of biomolecular chemistry fields. With the discoveries and applications of numerous biomolecule-catalyzed or -assisted processes, these reactions have garnered considerable interest in biochemistry, enzymology, and biocatalysis. Despite the challenges of reactivity and selectivity of biomolecular reactions, the alkylation and acylation reactions demonstrated their utility for the construction and functionalization of all the four major biomolecules (i.e., nucleosides, carbohydrates/saccharides, lipids/fatty acids, and amino acids/peptides/proteins), and their diverse applications in biological, medical, and material fields are discussed. As the alkylation and acylation reactions are often fundamental educational components of organic chemistry courses, this review is intended for both experts and nonexperts by discussing their basic reaction patterns (with the depiction of each reaction mechanism in the ESI) and relevant real-world impacts in order to enrich chemical research and education. The significant growth of biomolecular Friedel-Crafts reactions described here is a testament to their broad importance and utility, and further development and investigations of the reactions will surely be the focus in the organic biomolecular chemistry fields.

Conversion of Glycals to 2,3-Di-Substituted-3-Deoxy-Glycals via N-(Glycosyloxy) Acetamides Assisted C-2-Alkenylation and C-3-Nucleophilic Substitution

Transformation of glycals to 2,3-di-substituted-3-dexoy-glycals were achieved by sequential C2 alkenylation of pseudoglycals followed by capture of nucleophiles at C3 position. Anomeric linked N-(glycosyloxy) acetamides group assisted innate C2-H activation of pseudoglycals under palladium catalysis is achieved. The synthesized C2 alkenylated products were further attacked by thio/amino nucleophiles at C3 position under basic conditions in stereo-selective fashion to generate 2,3-branched glycals with the elimination of directing groups and translocation of double bond. Different control experiments were conducted to establish the role of directing groups in C-H functionalization of pseudoglycals and reason for selectivity.

A Metal-Free β-Stereoselective Synthesis of 2-Deoxy-C-arylglycosides: Synthesis of 5-Aza Analogues of Aquayamycin

A convenient protocol for the β-stereoselective synthesis of 2-deoxy-C-arylglycosides has been developed. This reaction takes place in one step by using I2/Et3SiH to activate a glycosyl acetate to generate a glycosyl iodide intermediate in situ, which is captured by a naphthol; this is followed by a Fries-like O-to-C glycoside rearrangement to afford a β-C-aryl glycoside selectively. The approach is applicable to a wide range of naphthol moieties, and its utility was demonstrated in syntheses of 5-aza analogues of aquayamycin.

A protecting group-free approach for synthesizing C-glycosides through glycosyl dithiocarbamates

The first protection/deprotection-free process for radical C-glycosylation has been achieved through one-step preparable glycosyl dithiocarbamates (GDTCs). The Giese-type reaction and radical allylation of unprotected GDTCs were successfully performed to obtain the corresponding α-C-glycosides stereoselectively under mild reaction conditions.

(C6F5)3B·(HF)n-catalyzed glycosylation of disarmed glycosyl fluorides and reverse glycosyl fluorides

(C₆F₅)₃B·(HF)_n-catalyzed glycosylation of disarmed glycosyl fluorides and reverse glycosyl fluorides with structurally diverse nucleophiles has been achieved.