Regioselective strategies mediated by lanthanide triflates for efficient assembly of oligomannans

Readily prepared mannosyl n-pentenylorthoesters (NPOEs) serve as donors in themselves and as convenient intermediates for other glycosyl donors, such as n-pentenyl glycosides (NPGs), thioglycosides, and trichloroacetimidates. These various donors are activated by different reagents, and are therefore amenable to versatile, discriminate use. Scandium and ytterbium triflates respond very differently to these donors, with the result that chemoselective discrimination between NPOEs, NPGs, trichloroacetimidates as well as ethyl and phenyl thioglycosides can be achieved. Appropriate NPOEs are also able to provide 2,6 and 3,6 diol acceptors via rearrangement or glycoside formation, and these can be used for one-pot, sequential glycosidations based on orthogonal donors, and in situ double differential glycosidations. Thus NPOEs activated by iodonium ion, specifically generated from ytterbium triflate/N-iodosuccinimide, can be used to monoglycosidate the diols rapidly, with exquisite regio, and sometimes chemo, selectivity. The residual NPOE is converted into disarmed NPG, which is refractory to the reaction conditions, and so poses no threat to the free-OH of the monoglycosidation product. Further glycosidation of the latter can then achieved by direct addition of a trichloroacetimidate or ethyl thioglycoside. This basic strategy has been used to prepare a branched chain pentadecamannan. The success is an example of the efficiency of donor/acceptor MATCH concept for regioselective glycosylation.