Structure, dynamics and reactivity of carbohydrates NMR spectroscopic studies

Sammanfattning: The main focus of this thesis is on the ring conformations of carbohydrate molecules; how the conformational equilibria and the rates of the associated interconversions are affected by the molecular constitution and their surroundings.The conformational equilibria of a group of amine linked pseudodisaccharides, designed as potential glycosidase inhibitors, comprising α-D-altrosides are described in Chapter 3. The OS2 conformation was largely populated, and the ring conformation was found to depend on the charge of the amine functionality.The conformations of β-D-xylopyranoside derivatives with naphthyl-based aglycones, which are potential anti-cancer agents, are described in chapter 4. Solvent dependent flexibility was observed. Intramolecular hydrogen bonds were concluded to be involved in the stabilization of 1C4 conformers in non-hydrogen bonding solvents of low polarity.Chapter 5 describes the first measurements of the conformational exchange rates of mannuronic acid ester derivatives between the 4C1 and 1C4 conformations, through DNMR measurements. The relative reactivity of glycosyl triflates as electrophiles in glycosylation reactions were investigated with NMR-based competition experiments.In Chapter 6, investigations of ruthenium-catalyzed epimerizations of the allylic alcohols of glycal derivatives, and stereoselective synthesis of esters through a DYKAT protocol, are described. The kinetics of the epimerizations were elaborated through different NMR-spectroscopic methods.Chapter 7 describes additions of NMR chemical shift data of mono- and oligosaccharides to database of the computer program CASPER, and applications thereof.