Abstract
Two Yale University chemists have carried out the first total synthesis, from noncarbohydrate sources, of a complex, widely occurring sialic acid—N-acetylneuraminic acid, commonly known as NANA. Based on a series of highly stereoselective steps, the synthesis opens the way to systematic study of the role of structure and stereochemistry in the potent biological activity of sialic acids. Building on the synthesis, the Yale chemists also plan to attach appropriate sugar groups and other constituents to sialic acids, and thus obtain biologically important glycoproteins, oligosaccharides, and glycolipids. The synthesis was carried out by Michael P. DeNinno, a graduate student, and Samuel J. Danishefsky, Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry and chairman of Yale's department of chemistry. Their work is described briefly in the current issue of The Journal of Organic Chemistry [51, 2615 (1986)], and will be discussed in more detail in a forthcoming paper. Their research was supported by the National Institutes ...
Published Version
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