An Unexpected Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Cascade during the Synthesis of the DEF-Benzoxocin Ring System of Nogalamycin and Menogaril: Mechanistic Elucidation by Intermediate Trapping Experiments and Density Functional Theory Studies.

An unexpected Lewis acid-catalyzed carbohydrate rearrangement of a 1,5-bis-glycopyranoside to the product of a formal intramolecular -aryl glycosylation reaction is reported. Mechanistic studies based mainly on intermediate trapping experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal a cascade process involving three transient (a)cyclic oxocarbenium cations, the breaking of three single C(sp)-O bonds, and the formation of three single bonds (i.e.

Expanding the scope of the successive ring expansion strategy for macrocycle and medium-sized ring synthesis: unreactive and reactive lactams.

New methods are described that expand the scope of the Successive Ring Expansion (SuRE) with respect to synthetically challenging lactams. A protocol has been developed for use with 'unreactive' lactams, enabling SuRE reactions to be performed on subsrates that fail under previously established conditions. Ring expansion is also demonstarted on 'reactive' lactams derived from iminosugars for the first time.

A Fries-Type Rearrangement Strategy for the Construction of Stereodefined Quaternary Pseudoanomeric Centers: An Entry into -Naphthyl Ketosides.

The stereodefined construction of quaternary pseudoanomeric centers by way of a BF·EtO-catalyzed, Fries-type rearrangement of -ketosides is described. This method provides new access to -naphthyl ketosides related to biologically relevant products with good to complete stereocontrol in favor of the β product.

Formal Glycosylation of Quinones with -Glycals Enabled by Iron-Mediated Oxidative Radical-Polar Crossover.

The intermolecular C-O coupling reaction of 1,4-quinones with -glycals under iron hydride hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) conditions is described. This method provides a direct and regioselective access to a wide range of phenolic -ketosides related to biologically relevant natural products in diastereomeric ratios up to >98:2 in the furanose and pyranose series. No trace of the corresponding -glycosylated products that might have resulted from the radical alkylation of 1,4-quinones was observed.

Stereoselective Synthesis of ,-Glycosides from -Glycals Enabled by Iron-Mediated Hydrogen Atom Transfer.

We describe herein a convenient strategy for the construction of ,-glycoside building blocks via the intermediacy of tertiary pseudoanomeric radicals. Application of an iron-mediated hydrogen atom transfer/Michael-Giese coupling enables the anomeric quaternization of readily available -glycals with good to complete stereocontrol in the pyranose and furanose series. Carefully optimized conditions allow the use of challenging trisubstituted derivatives prone to undergo further elaboration to stable neoglycoconjugates.

Stereocontrolled synthesis of polyhydroxylated bicyclic azetidines as a new class of iminosugars.

We report herein the development of a stereodivergent route towards polyhydroxylated bicyclic azetidine scaffolds, namely 6-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane derivatives.

One-Pot, Highly Stereoselective Synthesis of Dithioacetal-α,α-Diglycosides.

A one-step access to dithioacetal-α,α-diglycosides is reported. The synthetic strategy is based on the thioacetalization of aldehydes or ketones via highly stereoselective ring-opening of 1,6 anhydrosugars with bis(trimethylsilyl)sulfide.

Square sugars: challenges and synthetic strategies.

Square sugars (4-membered ring carbohydrate mimetics) are at the intersection of several important topics concerning the recent emergence, in medicinal chemistry, of glycomimetic drugs and small ring systems. Monosaccharide mimetics containing oxetane, azetidine, thiethane or cyclobutane rings present a number of synthetic challenges that are a powerful driving force for innovation in organic synthesis. In addition to the inherent issues associated with 4-membered rings, the high density of functional groups and asymmetric centres found in glycomimetics further complicates the matter and requires efficient stereoselective methodologies.

Investigation of original multivalent iminosugars as pharmacological chaperones for the treatment of Gaucher disease.

Multivalent iminosugars conjugated with a morpholine moiety and/or designed as prodrugs have been prepared and evaluated as new classes of pharmacological chaperones for the treatment of Gaucher disease. This study further confirms the interest of the prodrug concept and shows that the addition of a lysosome-targeting morpholine unit into iminosugar cluster structures has no significant impact on the chaperone activity on Gaucher cells.

Pushing the limits of catalytic C-H amination in polyoxygenated cyclobutanes.

A synthetic route to a new class of conformationally constrained iminosugars based on a 5-azaspiro[3.4]octane skeleton has been developed by way of Rh(ii)-catalyzed C(sp(3))-H amination. The pivotal stereocontrolled formation of the quaternary C-N bond by insertion into the C-H bonds of the cyclobutane ring was explored with a series of polyoxygenated substrates.

Synthesis of a new class of iminosugars based on constrained azaspirocyclic scaffolds by way of catalytic C-H amination.

The synthesis of the first examples of a new class of iminosugars based on constrained spirocyclic scaffolds has been achieved via Rh-catalyzed C(sp(3))-H amination. In this process, the needed electronic control in securing high regioselectivity from substrates with a high density of activated C-H bonds was achieved by using a combination of activating and electron-withdrawing groups.

Synthesis of 4-membered carbasugars by way of stereoselective SmI2-mediated aldehyde-alkene cyclization.

A stereodivergent synthesis of the first examples of 4-membered carbasugars has been achieved from vitamin C by way of an efficient intramolecular SmI2-mediated aldehyde-alkene coupling. In this key step, cylobutanes with four contiguous asymmetric centers are generated with a high level of stereocontrol.

Diastereoselective synthesis of the C17-C30 fragment of amphidinol 3.

The diastereoselective synthesis of the C17-C30 fragment of amphidinol 3 (AM3) 1 was achieved from the enantio-enriched aldehyde 20, Weinreb amide 14 and 2-bromo-3-(trimethylsilyl)propene, which was used as a bifunctional conjunctive reagent. The absolute configuration of the stereogenic centers, in both aldehyde 20 and Weinreb amide 14, were efficiently controlled by using (+)-(R)-methyl-p-tolylsulfoxide as the unique source of chirality.

Proline-mediated enantioselective construction of tetrahydropyrans via a domino aldol/acetalization reaction.

Highly enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydropyrans was accomplished via a domino proline-mediated aldol reaction/intramolecular acetal formation from an aldehyde and inexpensive aqueous tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2,6-diol as a five-carbon unit.