McKay MJ, Nguyen HM. Recent developments in glycosyl urea synthesis.
Carbohydr Res 2013;
385:18-44. [PMID:
24398301 DOI:
10.1016/j.carres.2013.08.007]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2013] [Revised: 08/08/2013] [Accepted: 08/09/2013] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The area of sugar urea derivatives has received considerable attention in recent years because of the unique structural properties and activities that these compounds display. The urea-linkage at the anomeric center is a robust alternative to the naturally occurring O- and N-glycosidic linkages of oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates, and the natural products that have been identified to contain these structures show remarkable biological activity. While methods for installing the β-urea-linkage at the anomeric center have been around for decades, the first synthesis of α-urea glycosides has been much more recent. In either case, the selective synthesis of glycosyl ureas can be quite challenging, and a mixture of α- and β-isomers will often result. This paper will provide a comprehensive review of the synthetic approaches to α- and β-urea glycosides and examine the structure and activity of the natural products and their analogues that have been identified to contain them.
Collapse