Nonenzymatic Stereoselective S-Glycosylation of Polypeptides and Proteins

Here we report a nonenzymatic glycosylation reaction that builds axial S-glycosidic bonds under biorelevant conditions. This strategy is enabled by the design and use of allyl glycosyl sulfones as precursors to glycosyl radicals and exploits the exceptional functional group tolerance of radical processes. Our method introduces a variety of unprotected glycosyl units to the cysteine residues of peptides in a highly selective fashion. Through developing the second-generation protocol, we applied our method in the direct glycosylation of complex polypeptides and proteins. Computational studies were performed to elucidate the reaction mechanism.