Biomass to Aromatic Amine Module: Alkali Catalytic Conversion of N-Acetylglucosamine into Unsubstituted 3-Acetamidofuran by Retro-Aldol Condensation.

Aminofurans are widely used in drug synthesis as aromatic modules analogous to aniline. However, unsubstituted aminofuran compounds are difficult to prepare. In this study, a process for the selective conversion of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG) into unsubstituted 3-acetamidofuran (3AF) is developed.