Structural variations of N-acetylneuraminic acid, part 19: Synthesis of both epimeric pairs of the 4-C-methyl- and 4-deoxy-4-C-methyl- as well as of the ?-methylketoside of 4-deoxy-4-C-methylene-N-acetylneuraminic acid

Direct sialic acid 4-OAc substitution by nitrogen, sulfur and carbon nucleophiles with retention of stereochemistry

A direct one-step nucleophilic substitution of the 4-OAc of acetyl protected Neu5Ac is presented. Previously published methods for direct substitution of the 4-OAc are limited to cyclic secondary amines. Here we present conditions that allow for a much wider range of nitrogen nucleophiles as well as thiols and cyanide, to be used. The present investigation significantly broadens the scope of 4-aminations and allows for the introduction of a wide variety of different nucleophiles.

Synthesis of 4-O-Alkylated N-Acetylneuraminic Acid Derivatives

The synthesis of 4-O-alkyl analogues of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and the scope of the reaction are described. Activated alkyl halides and sulfonates and primary alkyl iodides give products in useful yields. The utility of the methodology is exemplified using a thiophenyl Neu5Ac building block to synthesize a 4-O-alkyl DANA analogue. These results expand the toolbox of Neu5Ac chemistry with value in drug discovery and for the design of novel tools to study the biology of Neu5Ac lectins.

An unexpected elimination product leads to 4-alkyl-4-deoxy-4-epi-sialic acid derivatives

A useful, unexpected β,γ-unsaturated-α-keto ester (ethyl (E)-5-acetamido-3,4,5-trideoxy-6,7:8,9-di-O- isopropylidene-D-manno-non-3-en-2-ulosonate 5) was isolated in 91% yield following ozonolysis and chromatographic purification of its enoate ester precursor ethyl 5-acetamido-2,3,4,5-tetradeoxy-6,7:8,9-di-O-isopropylidene-2-methylene- 4-nitro-D-glycero-D-galacto-nononate (6). When the 4R enoate ester (ethyl 5-acetamido-2,3,4,5-tetradeoxy-6,7:8,9-di-O- isopropylidene-2-methylene-4-nitro-D-glycero-D-talo-nononate, 7) was subjected to the same conditions, enone 5 was a minor product (18%) while the major product did not eliminate HNO2 but instead cyclized to form a five-membered ring containing a hemiaminal linkage between C-2 and the amide nitrogen on C-5 (9, 70%). Conjugate addition to enone 5 opens up the potential to generate 4-substituted sialic acid derivatives, a general route to such compounds that has not been previously reported. In a preliminary investigation of such a route, diethylzinc and dimethylzinc were added to enone 5 resulting in generation of 4-alkyl-substituted cyclic hemiaminal structures 11 and 13, which could be deprotected to form 2,7-anhydrosialic acid analogues 14 and 15. These products could then be converted to peracetylated glycals 16 and 17, the 4-methyl-substituted compound 17 being finally deprotected to give a 4-methyl- substituted analogue of the glycal of sialic acid (5-acetamido-2,6-anhydro-3,4,5-trideoxy-4-methyl-D-glycero-D-talo-non-2-enonic acid 18).Key words: conjugate addition, dialkylzinc reagent, sialic acid, ozonolysis, inhibitors.

Synthesis of 4-deoxy-4-nitrosialic acid

The synthesis of 4-deoxy-4-nitrosialic acid (3,4,5-trideoxy-4-nitro-D-glycero-beta-D-galacto-non-2-ulopyranosonic acid, 5), was completed in seven steps starting from D-arabinose. Coupling of the 6-carbon fragment, 2-acetamido-1,2-dideoxy-1-nitro-D-mannitol (6) with ethyl alpha-(bromomethyl)acrylate afforded a 2 : 1 mixture of ethyl 5-acetamido-2,3,4,5-tetradeoxy-2-methylene-4-nitro-D-glycero-D-galacto-nononate (9a-S) and ethyl 5-acetamido-2,3,4,5-tetradeoxy-2-methylene-4-nitro-D-glycero-D-talo-nononate (9a-R). This mixture of enones was subjected to ozonolysis, and following reduction of the ozonide, the resultant products cyclised to the pyranosides. The target compound, ethyl 4-deoxy-4-nitrosialate (11a) was isolated by fractional crystallisation. Hydrolysis of the ethyl ester proved problematic; thus, the synthesis was modified by using tert-butyl alpha-(bromomethyl)acrylate. Following ozonolysis of the corresponding tert-butyl enoate esters and diastereomer separation, the tert-butyl ester of 4-nitrosialic acid (11b) could be deprotected under acidic conditions to afford . The target compound is a useful intermediate for synthesis of a variety of C-4 substituted sialic acid derivatives, and it is synthesised by a modular route.