Glycosylation by Alkyne Activation of the 2-O-Substituted Propargyl Group in a β-Phenylthioglucoside with a 5 S 1 Conformation

Generally, glycosylation reactions activate an anomeric substituent in a glycosyl donor to generate an oxocarbenium ion intermediate. Here we report a novel glycosylation reaction triggered by the activation of a 2-O-substituted propargyl group in a 3,6-O-1,1′-[(ethane-1,2-diyl)bibenzene-2,2′-bis(methylene)]-β-thioglucoside. This reaction proceeds through a cationic Au(I)-mediated intramolecular migration of the anomeric substituent onto the alkyne moiety of the propargyl group, followed by α-attack by the hydroxy group in the glycosyl acceptor on the oxocarbenium ion. The migration of the anomeric group occurs selectively through a 6-exo-dig pathway. The 2-(phenylsulfanyl)prop-2-en-1-yl group produced during the glycosylation is removable under conditions similar to those used for removing an allyl group. This reaction will be developed for further applications in orthogonal oligosaccharide synthesis.

β-Selective Glycosylation Using Axial-Rich and 2-O-Rhamnosylated Glucosyl Donors Controlled by the Protecting Pattern of the Second Sugar

Herein, we describe two counterexamples of the previously reported β/α-selectivity of 96/4 for glycosylation using ethyl 2-O-[2,3,4-tris-O-tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl]-3,4,6-tris-O-TBS-thio-β-D-glucopyranoside as the glycosyl donor. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of protecting group on the rhamnose moieties in the glycosylation with cholestanol and revealed that β-selectivity originated from the two TBS groups at the 3-O and 4-O positions of rhamnose. In contrast, the TBS group at the 2-O position of rhamnose hampered the β-selectivity. Finally, the β/α-selectivity during the glycosylation was enhanced to ≥99/1. The results obtained herein suggest that the protecting groups on the sugar connected to the 2-O of a glycosyl donor with axial-rich conformation can control the stereoselectivity of glycosylation.

Conformationally supple glucose monomers enable synthesis of the smallest cyclodextrins

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligomers of α-1,4-d-glucopyranoside and are known mainly as hexamers to octamers. The central cavities of CDs can retain small molecules, enabling diverse applications. The smallest members, CD3 and CD4, have ring sizes too small to permit the most stable conformations of glucopyranose and have not been accessible synthetically. In this study, we present methods to chemically synthesize both CD3 and CD4. The main factor in the successful synthesis is the creation of a glucopyranose ring conformationally counterbalanced between equatorial- and axial-rich forms. This suppleness is imparted by a bridge between O-3 and O-6 of glucose, which enables the generation of desirable, albeit deformed, conformers when synthesizing the cyclic trimer and tetramer.