Difluoromethylenated polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines: facile synthesis, crystal structure and biological evaluation

In our ongoing program aimed at the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel gem-difluoromethylenated glycosidase inhibitors, the gem-difluoromethylenated polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines as analogues of 2,5-dideoxy-2,5-imino-D-mannitol (DMDP) were designed and prepared. The crystal structure of gem-difluoromethylenated polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine 17 contains an N-H…F intermolecular hydrogen bond. The biological assessment of gem-difluoromethylenated polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines showed that the modification by the gem-difluoromethylene group decreased the inhibitory activities of DMDP.