Insight into the Ferrier Rearrangement by Combining Flash Chemistry and Superacids.

The transformation of glycals into 2,3-unsaturated glycosyl derivatives, reported by Ferrier in 1962, is supposed to involve an α,β unsaturated glycosyl cation, an elusive ionic species that has still to be observed experimentally. Herein, while combination of TfOH and flow conditions failed to observe this ionic species, its extended lifetime in superacid solutions allowed its characterization by NMR-based structural analysis supported by DFT calculations. This allyloxycarbenium ion was further exploited in the Ferrier rearrangement to afford unsaturated nitrogen-containing C-aryl glycosides and C-alkyl glycosides under superacid and flow conditions, respectively.

Structural and Computational Analysis of 2-Halogeno-Glycosyl Cations in the Presence of a Superacid: An Expansive Platform.

An expansive NMR-based structural analysis of elusive glycosyl cations derived from natural and non-natural monosaccharides in superacids is disclosed. For the first time, it has been possible to explore the consequence of deoxygenation and halogen substitution at the C2 position in a series of 2-halogenoglucosyl, galactosyl, and mannosyl donors in the condensed phase. These cationic intermediates were characterized using low-temperature in situ NMR experiments supported by DFT calculations.

Defining the S1 Side of Glycosylation Reactions: Stereoselectivity of Glycopyranosyl Cations.

The broad application of well-defined synthetic oligosaccharides in glycobiology and glycobiotechnology is largely hampered by the lack of sufficient amounts of synthetic carbohydrate specimens. Insufficient knowledge of the glycosylation reaction mechanism thwarts the routine assembly of these materials. Glycosyl cations are key reactive intermediates in the glycosylation reaction, but their high reactivity and fleeting nature have precluded the determination of clear structure-reactivity-stereoselectivity principles for these species.

Access to Wieland-Miescher Diketone-Derived Building Blocks by Stereoselective Construction of the C-9 Quaternary Carbon Center Using the Mukaiyama Aldol Reaction.

The Mukaiyama aldol reaction has been used to efficiently install a lateral chain at the C-9 position of the Wieland-Miescher ketone derivative 3 within two steps, representing a shortcut compared to that of the classical sequences. The treatment of the silylated enol ether 8 with a wide range of acetals in the presence of tin tetrachloride led to a the diastereoselective construction of the C-9 quaternary center of 33 new building blocks derived from the Wieland-Miescher ketone derivative 3.