On the origin of the electronic and magnetic circular dichroism of naphthyl C-glycosides: Anomeric configuration.

Aryl C-glycosides, in which the glycosidic bond is changed to a carbon-carbon bond, are an important family of biologically-active compounds. They often serve as secondary metabolites or exhibit antibiotic and cytostatic activities. Their stability to hydrolysis has made them attractive targets for new drugs. Their conformational behavior often strongly influences the resulting function. Their detailed structural and conformational description is thus highly desirable. This work studies the structure of three different naphthyl C-glycosides using UV-vis absorption as well as electronic and magnetic circular dichroism. It also describes their conformational preferences using a combination of molecular dynamics and DFT calculations. The reliability of these preferences has been verified by simulations of spectral properties and a comparison with their measured spectra. In particular, ECD spectroscopy has been shown to distinguish easily between α- and ß-pseudoanomers of aryl C-glycosides. Computer simulations and spectral decomposition have revealed how the resulting ECD patterns of the naphthyl glycosides studied are influenced by different conformer populations. In conclusion, reliable ECD patterns cannot be calculated by separating the naphthyl rotation from other conformational motions. MCD patterns have been similar for all the naphthyl C-glycosides studied. No clear diagnostic features have been found for either the pseudoanomeric configuration or the preferred hydroxymethyl rotamer. Nevertheless, the work has demonstrated the potential of MCD for the study of aryl glycosides interacting with proteins.

Silicon-bridged (1→1)-disaccharides: an umpoled glycomimetic scaffold.

Modification of the carbohydrate scaffold is an important theme in drug and vaccine discovery. Therefore, the preparation of novel types of glycomimetics is of interest in synthetic carbohydrate chemistry. In this manuscript, we present an early investigation of the synthesis, structure, and conformational behaviour of (1→1)-Si-disaccharides as a novel type of glycomimetics arising from the replacement of interglycosidic oxygen with a dimethyl-, methylpropyl-, or diisopropylsilyl linkage. We accomplished the preparation of this unusual group of umpoled compounds by the reaction of lithiated glycal or 2-oxyglycal units with dialkyldichlorosilanes. We demonstrated the good stability of the "Si-glycosidic" linkage under acidic conditions even at elevated temperatures. Next, we described the conformational landscape of these compounds by the combination of in silico modelling with spectroscopic and crystallographic methods. Finally, we explained the observed conformational flexibility of these compounds by the absence of gauche stabilizing effects that are typically at play in natural carbohydrates.

Unexplained post-acute infection syndromes.

SARS-CoV-2 is not unique in its ability to cause post-acute sequelae; certain acute infections have long been associated with an unexplained chronic disability in a minority of patients. These post-acute infection syndromes (PAISs) represent a substantial healthcare burden, but there is a lack of understanding of the underlying mechanisms, representing a significant blind spot in the field of medicine. The relatively similar symptom profiles of individual PAISs, irrespective of the infectious agent, as well as the overlap of clinical features with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), suggest the potential involvement of a common etiopathogenesis. In this Review, we summarize what is known about unexplained PAISs, provide context for post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), and delineate the need for basic biomedical research into the underlying mechanisms behind this group of enigmatic chronic illnesses.

Facile Approach to C-Glucosides by Using a Protecting-Group-Free Hiyama Cross-Coupling Reaction: High-Yielding Dapagliflozin Synthesis.

Invited for the cover of this issue is Kamil Parkan and co-workers at University of Chemistry and Technology and Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Prague. The cover graphic depicts a schematic representation of the assembly of aryl-C-glycosides based on a protecting-group-free Hiyama reaction. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202101052.

Facile Approach to C-Glucosides by Using a Protecting-Group-Free Hiyama Cross-Coupling Reaction: High-Yielding Dapagliflozin Synthesis.

Access to unprotected (hetero)aryl pseudo-C-glucosides via a mild Pd-catalysed Hiyama cross-coupling reaction of protecting-group-free 1-diisopropylsilyl-d-glucal with various (hetero)aryl halides has been developed. In addition, selected unprotected pseudo-C-glucosides were stereoselectively converted into the corresponding α- and ß-C-glucosides, as well as 2-deoxy-ß-C-glucosides. This methodology was applied to the efficient and high-yielding synthesis of dapagliflozin, a medicament used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Finally, the versatility of our methodology was proved by the synthesis of other analogues of dapagliflozin.

Straightforward synthesis of protected 2-hydroxyglycals by chlorination-dehydrochlorination of carbohydrate hemiacetals.

A straightforward and scalable method for the synthesis of protected 2-hydroxyglycals is described. The approach is based on the chlorination of carbohydrate-derived hemiacetals, followed by an elimination reaction to establish the glycal moiety. 1,2-dehydrochlorination reactions were studied on a range of glycosyl chlorides to provide suitable reaction conditions for this transformation. Benzyl ether, isopropylidene and benzylidene protecting groups, as well as interglycosidic linkage, were found to be compatible with this protocol. The described method is operationally simple and allows for the quick preparation of 2-hydroxyglycals with other than ester protecting groups, providing a feasible alternative to existing methods.

MOP and EE Protecting Groups in Synthesis of α- or ß-Naphthyl-C-Glycosides from Glycals.

The development of effective protection strategies is essential in the synthesis of complex carbohydrates and glycomimetics. This article describes a versatile four-stage protocol for the synthesis of α- or ß-aryl-C-glycosides from unprotected d-glycals using two acetal protecting groups, ethoxyethyl and methoxypropyl, which are stable under harsh basic conditions and convenient for the C-1 metalation of glycals. Their stability was investigated in subsequent cross-coupling reactions with 1-iodonaphthalene followed by oxidative/reductive transformations to naphthyl-C-glycosides.

Modular Stereoselective Synthesis of (1→2)-C-Glycosides based on the sp(2) -sp(3) Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction.

This work reports a modular and rapid approach to the stereoselective synthesis of a variety of α- and ß-(1→2)-linked C-disaccharides. The key step is a Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of D-glucal pinacol boronate with alkyl halide glycoside easily prepared from commercially available D-glucal. The products of this sp(2) -sp(3) cross-coupling reaction can be converted to glucopyranosyl, mannopyranosyl, or 2-deoxy-glucopyranosyl C-mannopyranosides by one- or two-step stereoselective oxidative-reductive transformations. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrated the first synthetic application of a challenging sp(2) -sp(3) Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction in carbohydrate chemistry.