Glycosyl Triflates Research Articles

Role of ion pairs in model glycosylation reactions of permethylated glucosyl and xylosyl triflates

Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of chemical O-glycosylation remains a significant challenge in glycochemistry. This study examines the mechanism of the nucleophilic substitution reaction between glycosyl triflates, which are extensively used in studies of glycosylation mechanisms, and several acceptor alcohols. The investigation was conducted through a comparative analysis of permethylated glucosyl triflate GTf and its xylosyl counterpart XTf. The glycosylation reactions, conducted in dichloromethane using GTf and XTf with EtOH, tBuOH, and CF3CH2OH, exhibited diverse α/β selectivities depending on the types of donor and acceptor molecules used. Identifying a unified mechanism to explain this range of selectivities proved challenging. Notably, we observed a distinct trend wherein the addition of excess triflate salt (Bu4NOTf) had a more pronounced effect on the α/β selectivity in glycosylation reactions utilizing XTf compared to those using GTf. Quantum chemical calculations performed at the SCS-MP2//DFT(M06-2X) level, with explicit inclusion of five solvent molecules, showed that contact ion pairs arising from XTf were significantly more stable than those from GTf. These experimental and computational results strongly suggest that ion pairs play a more crucial role in the glycosylation process involving XTf than GTf. Additionally, our quantum chemical analyses clarified that the enhanced stability of the ion pairs from XTf was attributed not to the strength of the C-1−OTf bond within XTf but to the flexibility in the conformational changes of XTf's pyranosyl ring.

Unraveling chemical glycosylation: DFT insights into factors imparting stereoselectivity

Stereoselective chemical glycosylation reactions are pivotal for preparing manifold biologically and medically important compounds, while mechanisms of chemical glycosylation reactions remain obscure and largely speculative. Herein, we performed DFT calculations to delve into the multifaceted mechanistic details of glycosylation reactions, including the equilibria among reactive glycosyl triflate intermediates in solution, the stereoselectivity imparting protecting groups, solvent effects, base, and the anomeric effect. Our results provided theoretical corroboration to 2-OAc neighbouring group participation (NGP), the arming/disarming effect, the coordination theory of solvent effect on glycosylation stereochemistry, and the influence of solvent polarity on the reaction kinetics spanning the SN1-SN2 continuum. For the first time, the existence of putative contact-ion-pairs (CIP) of glycosyl oxocarbenium and triflate anion in organic solutions was theoretically confirmed with the identification of multiple ground state structures employing an implicit Solvation Model based on Density (SMD). Kinetics of nucleophilic attack of model glucosyl triflates by simple alcohol acceptors ethanol (EtOH) and trifluoroethanol (TFE), complexed with 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylpyrimidine (TTBP) were explored, revealing the essential role of the close accompanying base for rendering glycosidic bond formation thermodynamically favourable. Our work deepens the comprehension of the glycosylation mechanism, paving the way for the rational design and future advancement of efficient and environmentally friendly stereoselective glycosylation reactions.

Influence of 3-Thio Substituents on Benzylidene-Directed Mannosylation. Isolation of a Bridged Pyridinium Ion and Effects of 3-O-Picolyl and 3-S-Picolyl Esters.

The influence on glycosyl selectivity of substituting oxygen for sulfur at the 3-position of 4,6-O-benzylidene-protected mannopyranosyl thioglycosides is reported and varies considerably according to the protecting group employed at the 3-position. The substitution of a thioether at the 3-position for the more usual 3-O-benzyl ether results in a significant loss of selectivity. The installation of a 3-S-picolinyl thioether results in a complex reaction mixture, from which a stable seven-membered bridged bicyclic pyridinium ion is isolated, while the corresponding 3-O-picolinyl ether affords a highly α-selective coupling reaction. A 3-O-picolyl ester provides excellent β-selectivity, while the analogous 3-S-picolyl thioester gives a highly α-selective reaction. The best β-selectivity is seen with a 3-deoxy-3-(2-pyridinyldisulfanyl) system. These observations are discussed in terms of the influence of the various substituents on the central glycosyl triflate - ion pair equilibrium.

Rapid access to organic triflates based on flash generation of unstable sulfonium triflates in flow.

Flash (extremely fast) electrochemical generation of unstable arylbis(arylthio)sulfonium triflates [ArS(ArSSAr)]+ [OTf]- that are unsuitable for accumulation in batch processes was achieved within 10 s in a divided-type flow electrochemcial reactor, enabling one-flow access to vinyl triflates, short-lived oxocarbenium triflates and glycosyl triflates.

Influence of Configuration at the 4- and 6-Positions on the Conformation and Anomeric Reactivity and Selectivity of 7-Deoxyheptopyranosyl Donors: Discovery of a Highly Equatorially Selective l-glycero-d-gluco-Heptopyranosyl Donor.

The preparation of four per-O-benzyl-d- or l-glycero-d-galacto and d- or l-glycero-d-gluco heptopyranosyl sulfoxides and the influence of their side-chain conformations on reactivity and stereoselectivity in glycosylation reactions are described. The side-chain conformation in these donors is determined by the relative configuration of its point of attachment to the pyranoside ring and the two flanking centers in agreement with a recent model. In the d- and l-glycero-d-galacto glycosyl donors, the d-glycero-d-galacto isomer with the more electron-withdrawing trans,gauche conformation of its side chain was the more equatorially selective isomer. In the d- and l-glycero-d-gluco glycosyl donors, the l-glycero-d-gluco isomer with the least disarming gauche,gauche side-chain conformation was the most equatorially selective donor. Variable temperature NMR studies, while supporting the formation of intermediate glycosyl triflates at -80 °C in all cases, were inconclusive owing to a change in the decomposition mechanism with the change in configuration. It is suggested that the equatorial selectivity of the l-glycero-d-gluco isomer arises from H-bonding between the glycosyl acceptor and O6 of the donor, which is poised to deliver the acceptor antiperiplanar to the glycosyl triflate, resulting in a high degree of SN2 character in the displacement reaction.

Glycosyl Sulfonates Beyond Triflates.

While glycosyl triflates are frequently invoked as intermediates in many chemical glycosylation reactions, the chemistry of other glycosyl sulfonates remains comparatively underexplored. Given the reactivity of sulfonates can span several orders of magnitude, this represents an untapped resource for the development of stereoselective glycosylation reactions. This personal account describes our laboratories efforts to take advantage of this reactivity to develop β-specific glycosylation reactions. Initial investigations led to the development of 2-deoxy-sugar tosylates as highly selective donors for β-glycoside synthesis, an approach which has been used to great success by our group and others for the construction of deoxy-sugar oligosaccharides and natural products. Subsequent studies demonstrate that "matching" the reactivity of the sulfonate to that of the sugar donor leads to highly selective SN 2-glycosylations with a range of substrates.

Single-Step Glycosylations with 13 C-Labelled Sulfoxide Donors: A Low-Temperature NMR Cartography of the Distinguishing Mechanistic Intermediates.

Glycosyl sulfoxides have gained recognition in the total synthesis of complex oligosaccharides and as model substrates for dissecting the mechanisms involved. Reactions of these donors are usually performed under pre-activation conditions, but an experimentally more convenient single-step protocol has also been reported, whereby activation is performed in the presence of the acceptor alcohol; yet, the nature and prevalence of the reaction intermediates formed in this more complex scenario have comparatively received minimal attention. Herein, a systematic NMR-based study employing both 13 C-labelled and unlabelled glycosyl sulfoxide donors for the detection and monitoring of marginally populated intermediates is reported. The results conclusively show that glycosyl triflates play a key role in these glycosylations despite the presence of the acceptor alcohol. Importantly, the formation of covalent donor/acceptor sulfonium adducts was identified as the main competing reaction, and thus a non-productive consumption of the acceptor that could limit the reaction yield was revealed.

Synthesis of β-Glucosides with 3-O-Picoloyl-Protected Glycosyl Donors in the Presence of Excess Triflic Acid: A Mechanistic Study.

Our previous study showed that picoloylated donors are capable of providing excellent facial stereoselectivity through the H-bond-mediated aglycone delivery (HAD) pathway. Presented herein is a detailed mechanistic study of stereoselective glycosylation with 3-O-picoloylated glucosyl donors. While reactions of glycosyl donors equipped with the 3-O-benzoyl group are typically non-stereoselective because these reactions proceed via the oxacarbenium intermediate, 3-O-picoloylated donors are capable of providing enhanced, but somewhat relaxed, β-stereoselectivity by the HAD pathway. In an attempt to refine this reaction, we noticed that glycosylations are highly β-stereoselective in the presence of NIS and stoichiometric TfOH. The HAD pathway is highly unlikely because the picoloyl nitrogen is protonated under these reaction conditions. The protonation and glycosylation were studied by low-temperature NMR, and the intermediacy of the glycosyl triflate has been observed. This article is dedicated to broadening the scope of this reaction in application to a variety of substrates and targets.

Establishment of Guidelines for the Control of Glycosylation Reactions and Intermediates by Quantitative Assessment of Reactivity

AbstractStereocontrolled chemical glycosylation remains a major challenge despite vast efforts reported over many decades and so far still mainly relies on trial and error. Now it is shown that the relative reactivity value (RRV) of thioglycosides is an indicator for revealing stereoselectivities according to four types of acceptors. Mechanistic studies show that the reaction is dominated by two distinct intermediates: glycosyl triflates and glycosyl halides from N‐halosuccinimide (NXS)/TfOH. The formation of glycosyl halide is highly correlated with the production of α‐glycoside. These findings enable glycosylation reactions to be foreseen by using RRVs as an α/β‐selectivity indicator and guidelines and rules to be developed for stereocontrolled glycosylation.

Establishment of Guidelines for the Control of Glycosylation Reactions and Intermediates by Quantitative Assessment of Reactivity.

Stereocontrolled chemical glycosylation remains a major challenge despite vast efforts reported over many decades and so far still mainly relies on trial and error. Now it is shown that the relative reactivity value (RRV) of thioglycosides is an indicator for revealing stereoselectivities according to four types of acceptors. Mechanistic studies show that the reaction is dominated by two distinct intermediates: glycosyl triflates and glycosyl halides from N-halosuccinimide (NXS)/TfOH. The formation of glycosyl halide is highly correlated with the production of α-glycoside. These findings enable glycosylation reactions to be foreseen by using RRVs as an α/β-selectivity indicator and guidelines and rules to be developed for stereocontrolled glycosylation.

Mixed‐Electrolyte‐Driven Stereoselective Electrochemical Glycosylation

AbstractMixed electrolytes such as tetrabutylammonium triflate (Bu4NOTf) and tetrabutylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl‐amide) (Bu4NNTf2) were found to improve stereoselectivity in electrochemical glycosylation of thioglycosides building blocks without a stereocontrolling group. Bu4NOTf was crucial to generate glycosyl triflate intermediate, whereas a second electrolyte such as Bu4NNTf2 contributes reducing solution resistance. Therefore, we assume that Bu4NOTf works as a reservoir of the triflate anion of the glycosyl triflate intermediate and Bu4NNTf2 works only as an electrolyte.

Are Brønsted Acids the True Promoter of Metal-Triflate-Catalyzed Glycosylations? A Mechanistic Probe into 1,2-cis-Aminoglycoside Formation by Nickel Triflate.

Metal triflates have been utilized to catalytically facilitate numerous glycosylation reactions under mild conditions. In some methods, the metal triflate system provides stereocontrol during the glycosylation, rather than the nature of protecting groups on the substrate. Despite these advances, the true activating nature of metal triflates remains unclear. Our findings indicated that the in situ generation of trace amounts of triflic acid from metal triflates can be the active catalyst species in the glycosylation. This fact has been mentioned previously in metal triflate-catalyzed glycosylation reactions; however, a thorough study on the subject and its implications on stereoselectivity has yet to be performed. Experimental evidence from control reactions and 19F NMR spectroscopy have been obtained to confirm and quantify the triflic acid released from nickel triflate, for which it is of paramount importance in achieving a stereoselective 1,2-cis-2-amino glycosidic bond formation via a transient anomeric triflate. A putative intermediate resembling that of a glycosyl triflate has been detected using variable temperature NMR (1H and 13C) experiments. These observations, together with density functional theory calculations and a kinetic study, corroborate a mechanism involving triflic acid-catalyzed stereoselective glycosylation with N-substituted trifluoromethylbenzylideneamino protected electrophiles. Specifically, triflic acid facilitates formation of a glycosyl triflate intermediate which then undergoes isomerization from the stable α-anomer to the more reactive β-anomer. Subsequent SN2-like displacement of the reactive anomer by a nucleophile is highly favorable for the production of 1,2-cis-2-aminoglycosides. Although there is a previously reported work regarding glycosyl triflates, none of these reports have been confirmed to come from the counter ion of the metal center. Our work provides supporting evidence for the induction of a glycosyl triflate through the role of triflic acid in metal triflate-catalyzed glycosylation reactions.

2- O- N-Benzylcarbamoyl as a Protecting Group To Promote β-Selective Glycosylation and Its Applications in the Stereoselective Synthesis of Oligosaccharides.

This study examines the utility of the N-benzylcarbamoyl (BnCar) protecting group in glycosylation reactions of the parent O-2 protected carbohydrate donor. It was found that the BnCar group imparted exclusively β-selectivity with primary and secondary alcohols. A mechanistic study revealed the activated intermediate to be the glycosyl triflate in a skew conformation, which results in β-selective glycosylation via an SN2-like pathway. The BnCar group can be readily cleaved using tetrabutylammonium nitrite, without affecting ester and ether protecting groups. Taken together, these results show BnCar to be useful for the synthesis of complex oligosaccharides, an undertaking that requires delicate chemical differentiation of various protecting groups.

A Study on Stereoselective Glycosylations via Sulfonium Ion Intermediates

The stereoselective synthesis of 1,2‐cis‐linkages can be achieved by an Sn2‐like displacement of glycosylation intermediates such as glycosyl triflates and sulfonium ions, provided that they display the right combination of stability and reactivity. Herein, we report the use of an achiral auxiliary that can impose neighboring group participation to afford glycosyl sulfonium ions, aided by the Thorpe–Ingold effect. We investigated the glycosylation properties of the sulfonium ions and used variable temperature NMR (VT‐NMR) studies to investigate their role in the glycosylation mechanism. The influence of the structure of the auxiliary, the protecting groups and stereochemistry of the glycosyl donor were investigated and led to the identification of a highly α‐selective galactose donor.

ChemInform Abstract: Mechanistic Investigations into the Application of Sulfoxides in Carbohydrate Synthesis

AbstractReview: [55 refs.

Mechanistic Investigations into the Application of Sulfoxides in Carbohydrate Synthesis.

The utility of sulfoxides in a diverse range of transformations in the field of carbohydrate chemistry has seen rapid growth since the first introduction of a sulfoxide as a glycosyl donor in 1989. Sulfoxides have since developed into more than just anomeric leaving groups, and today have multiple roles in glycosylation reactions. These include as activators for thioglycosides, hemiacetals, and glycals, and as precursors to glycosyl triflates, which are essential for stereoselective β‐mannoside synthesis, and bicyclic sulfonium ions that facilitate the stereoselective synthesis of α‐glycosides. In this review we highlight the mechanistic investigations undertaken in this area, often outlining strategies employed to differentiate between multiple proposed reaction pathways, and how the conclusions of these investigations have and continue to inform upon the development of more efficient transformations in sulfoxide‐based carbohydrate synthesis.

Directing effect by remote electron-withdrawing protecting groups at O-3 or O-4 position of donors in glucosylations and galactosylations

Glucosylations and galactosylations of various acceptors with donors possessing an electron-withdrawing benzylsulfonyl, benzoyl, or acetyl group at the O-3 or O-4 position were performed. A β-directing effect by the benzylsulfonyl group at O-3 of the glucosyl donors and by the benzylsulfonyl and acyl groups at O-4 of the glucosyl donors was observed. In contrast, acyl groups at O-3 of the glucosyl donors and acyl groups at O-3 and O-4 of the galactosyl donors exhibited an α-directing effect. The α-directing effect is partly considered to remote participation of the acyl groups, whereas the β-directing effect is somewhat attributed to the SN2-like reaction of the acceptor with the glycosyl triflate or the contact ion pair, which is stabilized by remote electron-withdrawing groups. Further evidence for the stability of the α-glycosyl triflates was determined by a low-temperature NMR study.

ChemInform Abstract: Synthetic Carbohydrate Research Based on Organic Electrochemistry

AbstractReview: 59 refs.

Chair interconversion and reactivity of mannuronic acid esters

Mannopyranosyluronic acids display a very unusual conformation behavior in that they often prefer to adopt a (1)C4 chair conformation. They are endowed with a strikingly high reactivity when used in a glycosylation reaction as a glycosyl donor. To investigate the unusual conformational behavior a series of mannuronic acid ester derivatives, comprising anomeric triflate species and O-methyl glycosides, was examined by dynamic NMR experiments, through lineshape analysis of (1)H and (19)F NMR spectra at various temperatures from -80 °C to 0 °C. Exchange rates between (4)C1 and (1)C4 chair conformations were found to depend on the electronic properties and the size of the C2 substituent (F, N3 or OBn) and the aglycon, with higher exchange rates for the glycosyl triflates and smaller C2 substituents. Low temperature (19)F exchange spectroscopy experiments showed that the covalently bound anomeric triflates did not exchange with free triflate species present in the reaction mixture. To relate the conformational behavior of the intermediate triflates to their reactivity in a glycosylation reaction, their relative reactivity was determined via competition reactions monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy at low temperature. The 2-O-benzyl ether compound was found to be most reactive whereas the 2-fluoro compound - the most flexible of the studied compounds - was least reactive. Whereas the ring-flip of the mannuronic acids is important for the enhanced reactivity of the donors, the rate of the ring-flip has little influence on the relative reactivity.

Revisit of the phenol O-glycosylation with glycosyl imidates, BF3·OEt2 is a better catalyst than TMSOTf

With BF3·OEt2 as the catalyst, the glycosylation of phenols with glycosyl trichloroacetimidates (or N-phenyl trifluoroacetimidates) bearing 2-O-participating groups leads to the desired 1,2-trans-O-glycosides in generally excellent yields without formation of the 1,2-cis-anomers. However, with TMSOTf as the catalyst, the outcomes of the corresponding phenol O-glycosylation are highly dependent on the nucleophilicity of the phenols; less nucleophilic is the phenol, higher amounts of the 1,2-cis-O-glycoside together with more side-products are generated. 1,2-Orthoesters have been found to be the major products at a low temperature (<−70°C) in all these phenol O-glycosylation reactions, which are transformed into the final products at a higher temperature. BF3·OEt2 is an effective catalyst to promote the conversion of 1,2-orthoesters into the corresponding 1,2-trans-O-glycosides. However, the 1,2-orthoesters could be converted into the dioxolenium triflate and glycosyl triflate in the presence of TMSOTf, these intermediates which might be in equilibrium with the glycosyl oxocarbenium related species lead to the final mixture of the α/β-O-glycosides and side-products.