The sugar cube: Network control and emergence in stereoediting reactions

Stereochemical editing strategies have recently enabled the transformation of readily accessible substrates into rare and valuable products. Typically, site selectivity is achieved by minimizing kinetic complexity by using protecting groups to suppress reactivity at undesired sites (substrate control) or by using catalysts with tailored shapes to drive reactivity at the desired site (catalyst control). We propose "network control," a contrasting paradigm that exploits hidden interactions between rate constants to greatly amplify modest intrinsic biases and enable precise multisite editing. When network control is applied to the photochemical isomerization of hexoses, six of the eight possible diastereomers can be selectively obtained. The amplification effect can be viewed as a mesoscale phenomenon between the limiting regimes of kinetic control in simple chemical systems and metabolic regulation in complex biological systems.

Stereoselective protecting-group-free synthesis of alkyl glycosides using dibenzyloxy triazine type glycosyl donors

Chemical O-glycosylation is a key step for the synthesis of sugar-containing molecules such as glycolipids. However, traditional carbohydrate chemistry is characterized by extensive use of protective groups, resulting in laborious manipulations and poor atom economy. Here, we present a protecting-group-free glycosylation strategy employing dibenzyloxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl glycosides (DBT-glycosides) as glycosyl donors. The DBT-glycosyl donors could be prepared directly through an alkaline nucleophilic substitution from unprotected sugars in aqueous media. The O-glycosylation of alcohols by using DBT-glycosyl donors has been carried out under mild hydrogenolytic conditions, affording the corresponding alkyl glycosides stereo-selectively in good yields.

Chemical (neo)glycosylation of biological drugs

Biological drugs, specifically proteins and peptides, are a privileged class of medicinal agents and are characterized with high specificity and high potency of therapeutic activity. However, biologics are fragile and require special care during storage, and are often modified to optimize their pharmacokinetics in terms of proteolytic stability and blood residence half-life. In this review, we showcase glycosylation as a method to optimize biologics for storage and application. Specifically, we focus on chemical glycosylation as an approach to modify biological drugs. We present case studies that illustrate the success of this methodology and specifically address the highly important question: does connectivity within the glycoconjugate have to be native or not? We then present the innovative methods of chemical glycosylation of biologics and specifically highlight the emerging and established protecting group-free methodologies of glycosylation. We discuss thermodynamic origins of protein stabilization via glycosylation, and analyze in detail stabilization in terms of proteolytic stability, aggregation upon storage and/or heat treatment. Finally, we present a case study of protein modification using sialic acid-containing glycans to avoid hepatic clearance of biological drugs. This review aims to spur interest in chemical glycosylation as a facile, powerful tool to optimize proteins and peptides as medicinal agents.

Recent advances in the direct O-arylation of carbohydrates

Methods for the O-arylation of hydroxyl and hemiacetal groups in carbohydrates via C(sp2)-O bond formation are discussed. Such methods provide an alternative disconnection to the traditional approach of nucleophilic substitution between a sugar-derived electrophile and a phenol or phenoxide nucleophile. They have led to new opportunities for stereoselectivity, site-selectivity and chemoselectivity in the preparation of O-aryl glycosides and carbohydrate-derived aryl ethers, compounds that are useful for a broad range of applications in medicinal chemistry, glycobiology and organic synthesis.

One-Step Synthesis of Sugar Nucleotides

The chemical synthesis of sugar nucleotides requires a multistep procedure to ensure a selective reaction. Herein, sugar nucleotides were synthesized in one step using 2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolinium chloride as the condensation reagent. The products were obtained in yields of 12-30%, and the yields were increased to 35-47% by the addition of a tuning reagent. NMR identification of the sugar nucleotides showed that mainly 1,2-trans-glycosides were present. The reported method represents a one-step route to sugar nucleotides from commercially available materials.

Transglycosylation Forms Novel Glycoside Ethyl α-Maltoside and Ethyl α-Isomaltoside in Sake during the Brewing Process by α-Glucosidase A of Aspergillus oryzae

Sake, the Japanese rice wine, contains a variety of oligosaccharides and glucosides produced by fungal enzymes during the brewing process. This study investigates the effect of knocking out the Aspergillus oryzae α-glucosidase (agdA) gene on the transglycosylation products in brewed sake. In addition to α-ethyl glucoside and α-glyceryl glucoside, the amount of two compounds that have molecular mass values similar to that of ethyl maltose decreased by agdA gene knockout. Both compounds were synthesized, in vitro, from maltose and ethanol with purified agdA. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis identified the two compounds as ethyl α-maltoside and ethyl α-isomaltoside, respectively, which are novel compounds in sake as well as in the natural environment. Quantitative analysis of 111 commercially available types of sake showed that these novel compounds were widely present at concentrations of several hundred mg/L, suggesting that both of them are ones of the common glycosides in sake.

Production and Surfactant Properties of Tert-Butyl α-d-Glucopyranosides Catalyzed by Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase

While testing the ability of cyclodextrin glucanotransferases (CGTases) to glucosylate a series of flavonoids in the presence of organic cosolvents, we found out that this enzyme was able to glycosylate a tertiary alcohol (tert-butyl alcohol). In particular, CGTases from Thermoanaerobacter sp. and Thermoanaerobacterium thermosulfurigenes EM1 gave rise to the appearance of at least two glycosylation products, which were characterized by mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as tert-butyl-α-D-glucoside (major product) and tert-butyl-α-D-maltoside (minor product). Using partially hydrolyzed starch as glucose donor, the yield of transglucosylation was approximately 44% (13 g/L of tert-butyl-α-D-glucoside and 4 g/L of tert-butyl-α-D-maltoside). The synthesized tert-butyl-α-D-glucoside exhibited the typical surfactant behavior (critical micellar concentration, 4.0–4.5 mM) and its properties compared well with those of the related octyl-α-D-glucoside. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of an enzymatic α-glucosylation of a tertiary alcohol.

Synthesis of a biotinylated probe from biotechnologically derived β-d-mannopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-d-mannopyranose for assessment of carbohydrate specificity of antibodies

The disaccharide β-d-mannopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-d-mannopyranose obtained by chemical cleavage and enzymatic dephosphorylation of biotechnologically available phosphomannan was transformed over six steps into a biotinylated probe suitable for assessment of carbohydrate specificity of antibodies induced by yeast cell wall preparations.

Strategies toward protecting group-free glycosylation through selective activation of the anomeric center

Glycosylation is an immensely important biological process and one that is highly controlled and very efficient in nature. However, in a chemical laboratory the process is much more challenging and usually requires the extensive use of protecting groups to squelch reactivity at undesired reactive moieties. Nonetheless, by taking advantage of the differential reactivity of the anomeric center, a selective activation at this position is possible. As a result, protecting group-free strategies to effect glycosylations are available thanks to the tremendous efforts of many research groups. In this review, we showcase the methods available for the selective activation of the anomeric center on the glycosyl donor and the mechanisms by which the glycosylation reactions take place to illustrate the power these techniques.

Regioselective Carbohydrate Oxidations: A Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Study on Selectivity, Rate, and Side-Product Formation

Palladium/neocuproine catalyzed oxidation of glucosides shows an excellent selectivity for the C3-OH, but in mannosides and galactosides, unselective oxidation was initially observed. For further application in more-complex (oligo)saccharides, a better understanding of the reaction, in terms of selectivity and reactivity, is required. Therefore, a panel of different glycosides was synthesized, subjected to palladium/neocuproine catalyzed oxidation and subsequently analyzed by qNMR. Surprisingly, all studied glucosides, mannosides, galactosides, and xylosides show selective oxidation of the C3-OH. However, subsequent reaction of the resulting ketone moiety is the main culprit for side product formation. Measures are reported to suppress these side reactions. The observed differences in reaction rate, glucosides being the most rapidly oxidized, may be exploited for the selective oxidation of complex oligosaccharides.