Study on metal-induced reactions of α-diazocarbonyl glucosides.

Conversions of diazocarbonyl carbohydrate compounds catalyzed by a series of rhodium and copper catalysts in conventional heating or microwave conditions were investigated. C-H insertion product was obtained in the presence of Rh(2)(OAc)(4). Intermolecular reactions rather than intramolecular reactions occurred in the presence of copper catalysts.

Conjugation of cyclodextrin with fullerene as a new class of HCV entry inhibitors.

An α-cyclodextrin-[60]fullerene conjugate with a flexible linker at the secondary face of α-cyclodextrin has been prepared, which displays significant water solubility and, more importantly, acts as a new class of HCV entry inhibitor with IC(50) at 0.17 µM level.

Synthesis of novel purine nucleosides towards a selective inhibition of human butyrylcholinesterase.

The search for new and potent cholinesterase inhibitors is an ongoing quest mobilizing many organic chemistry groups around the world as these molecules have been shown to treat the late symptoms of Alzheimer's disease as well as to act as neuroprotecting agents. In this work, we disclose the synthesis of novel 2-acetamidopurine nucleosides and, for the first time, regioselective N(7)-glycosylation with 2-acetamido-6-chloropurine, promoted by trimethylsilyl triflate, was accomplished by tuning the reaction conditions (acetonitrile as solvent, 65 degrees C, 5h) starting from 1-acetoxy bicyclic glycosyl donors, or by direct coupling of a methyl glucopyranoside with the nucleobase to obtain only N(7) nucleosides in reasonable yield (55-60%). The nucleosides as well as their sugar precursors were screened for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibition. While none of the compounds tested inhibited AChE, remarkably, some of the N(7) nucleosides and sugar bicyclic derivatives showed potent inhibition towards BChE. Nanomolar inhibition was obtained for one compound competing well with rivastigmine, a drug currently in use for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Experimental results showed that the presence of benzyl groups on the carbohydrate scaffold and the N(7)-linked purine nucleobase were necessary for strong BChE inactivation. A preliminary evaluation of the acute cytotoxicity of the elongated bicyclic sugar precursors and nucleosides was performed indicating low values, in the same order of magnitude as those of rivastigmine.

Stereochemical assignment and first synthesis of the core of miharamycin antibiotics.

The relative configuration at C-6' of nucleoside antibiotic miharamycin A has been elucidated by NMR spectroscopy and proved to be S. The total synthesis of miharamycin B has also been investigated, which has led to the unprecedented construction of its core. The bicyclic sugar moiety has been elaborated by means of a SmI(2)-based keto-alkyne coupling. Elongation of its C-6 position towards a bicyclic sugar amino acid and conversion into a suitable glycosyl donor enabled efficient N-glycosylation with 2-aminopurine to take place to afford the nucleosidic part of miharamycin B. Final peptide coupling with arginine afforded the skeleton of miharamycin B. Unfortunately, attempts to deprotect this scaffold failed to afford the complex nucleoside antibiotic.

Hemicarbasucrose: turning off the exoanomeric effect induces less flexibility.

Hemicarbasucrose, a close congener of sucrose in which the endocyclic oxygen atom of the glucose moiety is replaced by a methylene group was synthesized for the first time. The conformational behaviour of hemicarbasucrose was studied by a combination of molecular mechanics and NMR spectroscopy (J and NOE data). It was shown that the carbadisaccharide populates two distinct conformational families in solution, the normal syn-psi conformation, which is the predominating conformation of the parent natural O-glycoside, and the anti-psi conformation, which has not been detected for the O-disaccharide. Interestingly, the hemicarbasucrose is less flexible than its natural congener.

Chemical clockwise tridifferentiation of alpha- and beta-cyclodextrins: bascule-bridge or deoxy-sugars strategies.

The selective and efficient functionalisation of large concave molecules is a chemical challenge opening the door to various applications, such as artificial enzymes. We propose here a method, based on deprotection of benzylated cyclodextrins, to selectively access a variety of complex structures with two or three new different functionalities on the primary platform. Our strategy is based on a mechanistic hypothesis involving the approach of an aluminium reagent between the primary oxygen atom and the endocyclic one of the same sugar unit. Due to its cyclic directionality, a change in steric hindrance on a given position of the cyclodextrin has a different effect on the clockwise or the counterclockwise directions. This concept is illustrated and exploited in two complementary ways: deoxygenation of the primary position of two diametrically opposed sugars induces a debenzylation reaction on the neighbouring clockwise sugars of alpha- and beta-cyclodextrins. Reversible capping, or bascule-bridging, of the same pair of sugars has the same effect on the debenzylation of alpha-cyclodextrin, but induces an important change of the geometry of beta-cyclodextrin, hence allowing the selective access to yet another functionalisation pattern. A combined use of deoxygenation and bascule-bridging allows the access to an alpha-cyclodextrin with its three pairs of primary functions differentiated and ready for further modifications. Bascule-bridge or deoxy-sugars are two complementary means to operate steric decompression and induce selective reactions to efficiently access a number of new patterns of functionalities on concave molecules.

Diastereoselective synthesis of aminobacteriohopanetetrol, a biomarker for methanotrophic bacteria: confirmation of the absolute configuration.

A short and convenient strategy was developed for the first stereoselective chemical synthesis of aminobacteriohopanetetrol (= (1R,2R,3S,4S)-5-amino-1-[(22R)-hopan-30-yl]pentane-1,2,3,4-tetrol; 1), a typical biomarker for methanotrophic bacteria. Comparison of the NMR spectra of the synthetic and natural (peracetylated) product enabled us to unambiguously corroborate the absolute configuration of the functionalized pentyl side chain of 1.

gem-Difluoro-carbasugars, the cases of mannopyranose and galactopyranose.

5a-Difluoro-5a-carbamannopyranose (gem-difluoro-carbamannopyranose) and 5a-difluoro-5a-carbagalactopyranose (gem-difluoro-carbagalactopyranose), close congeners of their respective natural sugars, in which the endocyclic oxygen atom has been replaced by a gem-difluoromethylene group, were synthesized from D-mannose and D-galactose, using a rearrangement strategy.

Conformational behaviour of glycomimetics: NMR and molecular modelling studies of the C-glycoside analogue of the disaccharide methyl beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->3)-beta-D-glucopyranoside.

The conformational behaviour of the C-glycoside beta-C-Gal-(1-->3)-beta-Glc-OMe (1) has been studied using a combination of molecular mechanics and NMR spectroscopy (proton-proton coupling constants and nuclear Overhauser effects). It is shown that the C-disaccharide populates two distinctive conformational families in solution, the normal syn-psi conformation, which is the predominating conformation of parent O-glycoside 2, and the anti-psi conformation, which has not been detected for the O-disaccharide.

The conformation of the C-glycosyl analogue of N-acetyl-lactosamine in the free state and bound to a toxic plant agglutinin and human adhesion/growth-regulatory galectin-1.

The conformational behavior of the C-glycoside analogue of N-acetyl-lactosamine, beta-C-Gal-(1-->4)-beta-GlcNAc-OMe, 1, has been studied using a combination of molecular mechanics calculations and NMR spectroscopy (J and NOE data). It is shown that the C-disaccharide populates three distinctive conformational families in solution, the major one being the anti-psi conformation. Of note, this conformation is only marginally populated for the O-disaccharide. Due to its conspicuous role in the regulation of adhesion, growth and tissue invasion of tumors and its avid binding to N-acetyl-lactosamine human, galectin-1 was tested as a receptor. This endogenous lectin recognizes a local minimum of 1, the syn-PhiPsi conformer, and thus a conformational selection process is correlated with the molecular recognition event.

Synthesis of a bicyclic analog of L-iduronic acid adopting the biologically relevant 2S0 conformation.

The synthesis of a bicyclic analogue of the naturally occurring alpha-L-iduronic acid locked in a biologically active (2)S0 skewboat conformation is disclosed. The desired (2)S0 conformation has been obtained by tethering the C-2 and C-5 carbon atoms of the sugar ring with a dimethyloxy bridge and confirmed by NMR and molecular modeling. The new mimic displays the exact hydroxyl pattern of alpha-L-iduronic acid, a major monosaccharide component of glycosaminoglycans and thus represents a closer mimic of the latter, compared to previously reported bicyclic analogs.

Tandem Staudinger-azaWittig mediated ring expansion: rapid access to new isofagomine-tetrahydroxyazepane hybrids.

New seven-membered iminosugars with potent and selective inhibition towards glycosidases have been prepared as 1-N-iminosugar homologues via a tandem Staudinger-azaWittig mediated ring expansion.

Complex biohopanoids synthesis: efficient anchoring of ribosyl subunits onto a C(30) hopane.

Bacteriohopanoids represent a particularly important series of triterpenoids, widely distributed in bacteria. One of the common features of these pentacyclic hopanepolyols is the presence of an extended non-terpenoid and polyhydroxylated side chain attached to the triterpenic moiety through a C--C bond. The biological function of biohopanoids also has to be addressed when one considers the broad diversity in both structures and functionalities found in the side chain. Moreover, the stereochemistries of some biohopanoids are still unconfirmed, due to the lack of synthetic methods to prepare them. In this study we describe an efficient methodology for the formation of the C--C bond between the C(30)-hopane component and C(5)-polyhydroxylated carbohydrates through the use of a hopanyllithium intermediate, which has enabled us to synthesize several biohopanoid derivatives. We also report the first synthesis of hopanepentol bearing an additional hydroxy group at position C31.

Alkylalanes and methyl furanosides: regioselective O-debenzylation or acetal cleavage.

Perbenzylated methyl pentofuranosides were submitted to the action of three alkylalanes and regioselective debenzylation at O-2 of the four pentoses was observed when choosing the right match between anomeric configuration and aluminium reagent. Diisobutylalane (DIBAL-H) allowed an easy access to reduced open-chain compounds, whereas trimethylalane (TMAL) stereoselectively produced methylated open chain derivatives.

Nucleophilic opening of epoxyazepanes: expanding the family of polyhydroxyazepane-based glycosidase inhibitors.

A range of new tetra- and pentahydroxylated seven-membered iminoalditols has been efficiently synthesized from epoxyazepane precursors via nucleophilic opening with hydride or oxygenated species and subsequent hydrogenolysis. One tetrahydroxylated azepane, a ring homologue of deoxymannojirimycin, displays a selective and fairly good inhibition of alpha-L-fucosidase.

Sequential ring closing/opening metathesis for the highly selective synthesis of a triply bifunctionalized alpha-cyclodextrin.

Metathesis versatility has been exploited to reveal the cyclic directionality of cyclodextrins and to selectively synthesise a unique cyclodextrin bearing three pairs of orthogonal protecting groups on its primary rim.

A new methodology for the synthesis of fluorinated exo-glycals and their time-dependent inhibition of UDP-galactopyranose mutase.

Fluorinated carbohydrates constitute a very important class of mechanistic probes for glycosyl-processing enzymes. In this study, we describe the first synthesis of fluorinated and phosphonylated exo-glycals and their corresponding nucleotide sugars in the galactofuranose series. The synthetic protocol that we have developed is a Selectfluor-mediated fluorination/elimination sequence on phosphonylated exo-glycals, and it offers a new entry into fluorinated carbohydrate chemistry. The challenging E/Z stereochemical assignment of the resulting tetrasubstituted alkenes, which bear an alkoxy, an alkyl, a fluoro, and a phosphonyl group, has been achieved through NMR experiments. The corresponding (E)- and (Z)-nucleotide fluorosugars have been prepared and tested as inhibitors of UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM). UGM is a flavoenzyme that catalyzes the isomerization of uridine diphosphate(UDP)-galactopyranose into UDP-galactofuranose, a key step of the biosynthesis of important mycobacterial cell-wall glycoconjugates. The two diastereomeric molecules were found to display time-dependent inactivation of UGM, as expected from preliminary results using non-fluorinated exo-glycal nucleotides. The inhibitory properties of the two fluorinated molecules led us to suggest that the inactivation mechanism proceeds through two-electron processes, despite the presence of the flavin cofactor within the UGM catalytic site.

1,4-Anhydrogalactopyranose is not an intermediate of the mutase catalyzed UDP-galactopyranose/furanose interconversion.

UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) catalyzes the isomerization of UDP-galactopyranose (UDP-Galp) into UDP-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf), an essential step of the mycobacterial cell wall biosynthesis. The first mechanistic assumption proposed in the literature was the involvement of 1,4-anhydrogalactose 1 as intermediate of this ring contraction. To confirm or rule out this hypothesis, we synthesized 1 and engaged it in reactions with UGM. The expected formations of UDP-Galf and UDP-Galp were never observed, thus showing that 1 is not, in fact, a low energy intermediate of this enzymatic contraction.

Concise syntheses of bacteriohopanetetrol and its glucosamine derivative.

This study describes the syntheses of bacteriohopanetetrol and its glucosamine derivative through a key direct coupling of a ribose derivative to the hopane skeleton.