Thiosugars: new perspectives regarding availability and potential biochemical and medicinal applications

Area of Science:

• Carbohydrate Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Thiosugars feature a sulfur atom, differing from conventional monosaccharides.
• Their physicochemical properties, like water solubility, are distinct.
• Sulfur bridges in thiosugars influence geometric, conformational, and electronic properties compared to oxygen analogs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review functionalized thiosugars as potential therapeutic targets.
• To highlight unique properties and biological activities of thiosugars.
• To present recent developments and examples of thiosugar prototypes.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of functionalized thiosugars.
• Analysis of physicochemical and biological property differences between thiosugars and oxygen analogs.
• Identification and discussion of natural and synthetic thiosugar examples.

Main Results:

• Thiosugars possess unique water solubility and electronic properties due to the sulfur heteroatom or bridge.
• Geometric, conformational, and flexibility differences contribute to varied biological activities.
• Several natural thiosugars (e.g., salacinol, kotalanol) and synthetic analogs show therapeutic potential.

Conclusions:

• Functionalized thiosugars represent a valuable class of compounds for drug development.
• Their unique sulfur-based structures offer advantages over traditional carbohydrate analogs.
• Further research into thiosugars could lead to novel carbohydrate-based therapeutics.