tert‐Butyl (6S)‐4‐hydroxy‐6‐isobutyl‐2‐oxo‐1,2,5,6‐tetra­hydropyridine‐1‐carboxyl­ate and tert‐butyl (4R,6S)‐4‐hydroxy‐6‐iso­butyl‐2‐oxopiperidine‐1‐carboxyl­ate

X‐ray studies reveal that tert‐butyl (6S)‐6‐iso­butyl‐2,4‐dioxo­piperidine‐1‐carboxyl­ate occurs in the 4‐enol form, viz. tert‐butyl (6S)‐4‐hydroxy‐6‐iso­butyl‐2‐oxo‐1,2,5,6‐tetra­hydropyri­dine‐1‐carboxyl­ate, C₁₄H₂₃NO₄, when crystals are grown from a mixture of di­chloro­methane and pentane, and has an axial orientation of the iso­butyl side chain at the 6‐position of the piperidine ring. Reduction of the keto functionality leads predominantly to the corresponding β‐hydroxy­lated δ‐lactam, tert‐butyl (4R,6S)‐4‐hydroxy‐6‐iso­butyl‐2‐oxo­piperidine‐1‐car­boxyl­ate, C₁₄H₂₅NO₄, with a cis configuration of the 4‐hydroxy and 6‐iso­butyl groups. The two compounds show similar molecular packing driven by strong O—H⋯O=C hydrogen bonds, leading to infinite chains in the crystal structure.     

(±)‐6‐tert‐Butyl‐8‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐­phenyl‐4H‐1,3‐benzodioxin and 2,2,2′,2′,6,6′‐hexamethyl‐8,8′‐methylenebis(4H‐1,3‐benzodioxin)

Two compounds containing 1,3‐benzodioxin groups are reported, namely (±)‐6‐tert‐butyl‐8‐hydroxy­methyl‐2‐phenyl‐4H‐1,3‐benzodioxin, C₁₉H₂₂O₃, (I), and 2,2,2′,2′,6,6′‐hexamethyl‐8,8′‐methyl­enebis(4H‐1,3‐benzodioxin), C₂₃H₂₈O₄, (II).The hydroxy groups of neighbouring mol­ecules in (I) are hydrogen bonded to each other, giving rise to double‐row chains. The mol­ecule in (II) adopts a `butterfly' conformation, with the O atoms in distal positions. In both compounds, the dioxin rings are in distorted half‐chair conformations.     

Resolution of (S,S)‐4‐(2,2,4‐tri­methyl­chroman‐4‐yl)­phenyl camphanate and its 4‐chromanyl epimer by crystallization

Dianin's compound (4‐p‐hydroxy­phenyl‐2,2,4‐tri­methyl­chroman) has been resolved by crystallization of the (S)‐(−)‐camphanic esters (S,S)‐ and (R,S)‐4‐(2,2,4‐tri­methyl­chroman‐4‐yl)­phenyl 4,7,7‐tri­methyl‐3‐oxo‐2‐oxabi­cyclo[2.2.1]heptane‐1‐carboxyl­ate, both C₂₈H₃₂O₅, from 2‐methoxy­ethanol, yielding the pure S,S diastereomer. The relative stereochemistry of both diastereomers has been determined by X‐ray crystallography, from which the absolute stereochemistry could be deduced from the known configuration of the camphanate moiety. The crystallographic conformations have been analysed, including the 1:1 disorder of the R,S diastereomer.     

The diastereoisomers methyl 5‐(S)‐[2‐(R)/(S)‐methoxycarbonyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydropyrrol‐1‐ylcarbonyl]‐1‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐4,5‐dihydropyrazole‐3‐carboxylate

The title diastereoisomers, methyl 5‐(S)‐[2‐(S)‐methoxy­carbonyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetra­hydro­pyrrol‐1‐yl­carbonyl]‐1‐(4‐methyl­phenyl)‐4,5‐di­hydro­pyrazole‐3‐carboxyl­ate and methyl 5‐(S)‐[2‐(R)‐methoxycarbonyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydropyrrol‐1‐ylcarbonyl]‐1‐(4‐methyl­phenyl)‐4,5‐di­hydro­pyrazole‐3‐carboxylate, both C₁₉H₂₃N₃O₅, have been studied in two crystalline forms. The first form, methyl 5‐(S)‐[2‐(S)‐methoxy­carbonyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydropyrrol‐1‐ylcarbonyl]‐1‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐4,5‐di­hydro­pyrazole‐3‐carboxyl­ate–methyl 5‐(S)‐[2‐(R)‐methoxy­carbonyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetra­hydro­pyrrol‐1‐yl­carbonyl]‐1‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐4,5‐dihydropyrazole‐3‐carboxylate (1/1), 2(S),5(S)‐C₁₉H₂₃N₃O₅·2(R),5(S)‐C₁₉H₂₃N₃O₅, contains both S,S and S,R isomers, while the second, methyl 5‐(S)‐[2‐(S)‐methoxycarbonyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro­pyrrol‐1‐ylcarbonyl]‐1‐(4‐methyl­phenyl)‐4,5‐di­hydro­pyrazole‐3‐carboxyl­ate, 2(S),5(S)‐C₁₉H₂₃N₃O₅, is the pure S,S isomer. The S,S isomers in the two structures show very similar geometries, the maximum difference being about 15° on one torsion angle. The differences between the S,S and S,R isomers, apart from those due to the inversion of one chiral centre, are more remarkable, and are partially due to a possible rotational disorder of the 2‐­(methoxycarbonyl)tetrahydropyrrole group.     

An intermediate in a new synthesis approach to β‐substituted β‐hydroxy­aspartame

The crystal and molecular structure of 1‐tert‐butyl 4‐ethyl (2′R,3′R,5′R,2S,3S)‐3‐bromo­methyl‐3‐hydroxy‐2‐[(2′‐hydroxy‐2′,6′,6′‐tri­methyl­bi­cyclo­[3.1.1]­hept‐3′‐yl­idene)­amino]­succinate, C₂₁H₃₄BrNO₆, is presented. This compound is an intermediate in the new synthetic route to β‐substituted β‐hydroxy­aspartates, which are blockers of glutamate transport.     

Diastereoselective Electrophilic Amination of Chiral 1‐Benzoyl‐2,3,5,6‐tetrahydro‐3‐methyl‐2‐(1‐methylethyl)pyrimidin‐4(1H)‐one for the Asymmetric Syntheses of α‐Substituted α,β‐Diaminopropanoic Acids

The chiral compounds (R)‐ and (S)‐1‐benzoyl‐2,3,5,6‐tetrahydro‐3‐methyl‐2‐(1‐methylethyl)pyrimidin‐4(1H)‐one ((R)‐ and (S)‐ 1 ), derived from (R)‐ and (S)‐asparagine, respectively, were used as convenient starting materials for the preparation of the enantiomerically pure α‐alkylated (alkyl=Me, Et, Bn) α,β‐diamino acids (R)‐ and (S)‐ 11 – 13 . The chiral lithium enolates of (R)‐ and (S)‐ 1 were first alkylated, and the resulting diasteroisomeric products 5 – 7 were aminated with ‘di(tert‐butyl) azodicarboxylate’ (DBAD), giving rise to the diastereoisomerically pure (≥98%) compounds 8 – 10 . The target compounds (R)‐ and (S)‐ 11 – 13 could then be obtained in good yields and high purities by a hydrolysis/hydrogenolysis/hydrolysis sequence.     

New electron‐deficient chiral phosphines: (4R,5R)‐1,3‐bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)perhydro‐1,3,2‐benzodiazaphosphol‐2‐yl] substituted amines

Three chiral electron‐deficient phosphine ligands, [(4R,15R)‐,3‐bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonyl)­per­hydro‐1,3,2‐benzodiazaphosphol‐2‐yl]­diethyl­amine, C₁₂H₂₀F₆N₃O₄PS₂, (IIIa), [(4R,5R)‐1,3‐bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonyl)­per­hydro‐1,3,2‐benzodi­aza­phosphol‐2‐yl]­di­methyl­amine, C₁₀H₁₆F₆N₃O₄PS₂, (IIIb), and bis­[(4R,5R)‐1,3‐bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonyl)­per­hydro‐1,3,2‐benzodi­aza­phosphol‐2‐yl]­methyl­amine, (IV), as the chloroform solvate, C₁₇H₂₃F₁₂N₅O₈P₂S₄·0.98CHCl₃, have been prepared from (1R,2R)‐N,N′‐bis­(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonyl)‐1,2‐cyclo­hexane­di­amine and diethyl phosphor­amido­us dichloride, dimethyl phosphoramidous dichloride or methyl imidodi­phosphorus tetrachloride. The π‐acceptor abilities of these new types of ligands have been evaluated by X‐ray determination of the P—N bond lengths; it has been found that the most promising ligand is the bis­(phosphine) (IV).     

Conformational change induced by hydration: trans‐dichloro­bis­[(1R,2R,3R,5S)‐(–)‐isopinocampheylamine]palladium(II) and trans‐dichloro­bis[(1S,2S,3S,5R)‐(+)‐isopinocampheylamine]palladium(II) hemihydrate

The title compounds, trans‐dichloro­bis[(1R,2R,3R,5S)‐(−)‐2,6,6‐trimethyl­bicyclo­[3.1.1]heptan‐3‐amine]palladium(II), [PdCl₂(C₁₀H₁₉N)₂], and trans‐dichloro­bis[(1S,2S,3S,5R)‐(+)‐2,6,6‐trimethyl­bicyclo­[3.1.1]heptan‐3‐amine]palladium(II) hemihydrate, [PdCl₂(C₁₀H₁₉N)₂]·0.5H₂O, present different arrangements of the amine ligands coordinated to Pd^II, viz. antiperiplanar in the former case and (−)anticlinal in the latter. The hemihydrate is an inclusion compound, with a Pd coordination complex and disordered water mol­ecules residing on crystallographic twofold axes. The crystal structure for the hemihydrate includes a short Pd⋯Pd separation of 3.4133 (13) Å.     

2(S)‐Amino‐3‐[1H‐imidazol‐4(5)‐yl]­propyl cyclo­hexylmethyl ether di­hydro­chloride and 2(S)‐amino‐3‐[1H‐imidazol‐4(5)‐yl]­propyl 4‐bromo­benzyl ether di­hydro­chloride

(Cyclo­hexyl­methyl­oxy­methyl)(1H‐imidazol‐4‐io­methyl)‐(S)‐ammonium dichloride, C₁₃H₂₅N₃O⁺·2Cl^?, and (4‐bromo­benzyl)(1H‐imidazol‐4‐io­methyl)‐(S)‐ammonium dichloride, C₁₃H₁₈BrN₃O⁺·2Cl^?, are model compounds with different biological activities for evaluation of the hist­amine H3‐receptor activation mechanism. Both title compounds occur in almost similar extended conformations.     

Multigram Solution‐Phase Synthesis of Three Diastereomeric Tripeptidic Second‐Generation Dendrons Based on (2S,4S)‐, (2S,4R)‐, and (2R,4S)‐4‐Aminoprolines

Three diastereomeric second‐generation (G2) dendrons were prepared by using (2S,4S)‐, (2S,4R)‐, and (2R,4S)‐4‐aminoprolines on the multigram scale with highly optimized and fully reproducible solution‐phase methods. The peripheral 4‐aminoproline branching units of all the dendrons have the 2S,4S configuration throughout, whereas those units at the focal point have the 2S,4S, 2S,4R, and 2R,4S configurations. These latter configurations led to the dendrons being named (2S,4S)‐ 1 , (2S,4R)‐ 1 , and (2R,4S)‐ 1 , respectively. The 4‐aminoproline derivatives used in this study are new, although many closely related compounds exist. Their syntheses were optimized. The dendron assembly involved amide coupling, the efficiency of which was also optimized by employing the following well‐known reagents: EDC/HOBt, DCC/HOSu, TBTA/HOBt, TBTU/HOBt, BOP/HOBt, pentafluorophenol, and PyBOP/HOBt. It was found that the use of PyBOP is by far the best for dendrons (2S,4S)‐ 1 and (2R,4S)‐ 1 , and pentafluorophenol active ester is best for (2S,4R)‐ 1 . Because of their multigram scale, all couplings were done in solution instead of by solid‐phase procedures. Purifications were, nevertheless, easy. The optical purities of the key intermediates as well as the three G2 dendrons were analyzed by chiral HPLC analysis. These novel, diastereomeric second‐generation dendrons have a rather compact and conformationally highly rigid structure that makes them interesting candidates for applications, for example, in the field of dendronized polymers and in organocatalysis.     

(1R,2R)‐2‐(4‐Methylenecyclohex‐2‐enyl)propyl (1R,4S)‐camphanate

Esterification of a single diastereomer of 2‐(4‐methylene­cyclohex‐2‐enyl)propanol, (II), with (1R,4S)‐(+)‐camphanic acid [(1R,4S)‐4,7,7‐trimethyl‐3‐oxo‐2‐oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane‐1‐carboxylic acid] leads to the crystalline title compound, C₂₀H₂₈O₄. The relative configuration of the camphanate was determined by X‐ray diffraction analysis. The outcome clarifies the relative and absolute stereochemistry of the naturally occurring bisabolane sesquiterpenes β‐turmerone and β‐sesquiphellandrene, since we have converted (II) into both natural products via a stereospecific route.     

Weak C—H...O and C—H...π hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking interactions in a series of four N′‐[(E)‐(aryl)methylidene]‐N‐methyl‐2‐oxo‐1,3‐oxazolidine‐4‐carbohydrazides

Oxazolidin‐2‐ones are widely used as protective groups for 1,2‐amino alcohols and chiral derivatives are employed as chiral auxiliaries. The crystal structures of four differently substituted oxazolidinecarbohydrazides, namely N′‐[(E)‐benzylidene]‐N‐methyl‐2‐oxo‐1,3‐oxazolidine‐4‐carbohydrazide, C₁₂H₁₂N₃O₃, (I), N′‐[(E)‐2‐chlorobenzylidene]‐N‐methyl‐2‐oxo‐1,3‐oxazolidine‐4‐carbohydrazide, C₁₂H₁₂ClN₃O₃, (II), (4S)‐N′‐[(E)‐4‐chlorobenzylidene]‐N‐methyl‐2‐oxo‐1,3‐oxazolidine‐4‐carbohydrazide, C₁₂H₁₂ClN₃O₃, (III), and (4S)‐N′‐[(E)‐2,6‐dichlorobenzylidene]‐N,3‐dimethyl‐2‐oxo‐1,3‐oxazolidine‐4‐carbohydrazide, C₁₃H₁₃Cl₂N₃O₃, (IV), show that an unexpected mild‐condition racemization from the chiral starting materials has occurred in (I) and (II). In the extended structures, the centrosymmetric phases, which each crystallize with two molecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit, form A+B dimers linked by pairs of N—H...O hydrogen bonds, albeit with different O‐atom acceptors. One dimer is composed of one molecule with an S configuration for its stereogenic centre and the other with an R configuration, and possesses approximate local inversion symmetry. The other dimer consists of either R,R or S,S pairs and possesses approximate local twofold symmetry. In the chiral structure, N—H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into C(5) chains, with adjacent molecules related by a 2₁ screw axis. A wide variety of weak interactions, including C—H...O, C—H...Cl, C—H...π and π–π stacking interactions, occur in these structures, but there is little conformity between them.     

Synthesis of an Enantiomerically Pure 1,3‐Thiazole‐5(4H)‐thione and Its Stereoselective 1,3‐Dipolar Cycloaddition with an Azomethine Ylide

Starting from the enantiomerically pure 2H‐azirin‐3‐amines (R,S)‐ 4 and (S,S)‐ 4 , the enantiomeric, optically active 4‐benzyl‐4‐methyl‐2‐phenyl‐1,3‐thiazole‐5(4H)‐thiones (R)‐ 1 and (S)‐ 1 , respectively, have been prepared (Schemes 2 and 3). In each case, the reaction of 1 with N‐(benzylidene)[(trimethylsilyl)methyl]amine ( 2 ) in HMPA in the presence of CsF and trimethylsilyl triflate gave a mixture of four optically active spirocyclic cycloadducts (Scheme 4). Separation by preparative HPLC yielded two pure diastereoisomers, e.g., (4R,5R,9S)‐ 10 and (4R,5R,9R)‐ 10 . The regioisomeric compounds 11 were obtained as a mixture of diastereoisomers. The products were formed by a 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of 1 with in situ generated azomethine ylide 3 , which attacks 1 stereoselectively from the sterically less‐hindered side, i.e., with (R)‐ 1 the attack occurs from the re‐side and in the case of (S)‐ 1 from the si‐side.     

(2S,3S)‐2,6‐Dimethylheptane‐1,3‐diol,the oxygenated side chain of 22(S)‐hydroxycholestrol,and its synthetic precursor (R)‐4‐benzyl‐3‐[(2R,3S)‐3‐hydroxy‐2,6‐dimethylheptanoyl]‐1,3‐oxazolidin‐2‐one

(2S,3S)‐2,6‐Dimethylheptane‐1,3‐diol, C₉H₂₀O₂, (I), was synthesized from the ketone (R)‐4‐benzyl‐3‐[(2R,3S)‐3‐hydroxy‐2,6‐dimethylheptanoyl]‐1,3‐oxazolidin‐2‐one, C₁₉H₂₇NO₄, (II), containing C atoms of known chirality. In both structures, strong hydrogen bonds between the hydroxy groups form tape motifs. The contribution from weaker C—H...O hydrogen bonds is much more evident in the structure of (II), which furthermore contains an example of a direct short Osp³...Csp² contact that represents a usually unrecognized type of intermolecular interaction.     

5,5′‐Di‐tert‐butyl‐2,2′‐di­hydroxy‐3,3′‐methyl­enedibenz­aldehyde and 6,6′‐di‐tert‐butyl‐8,8′‐methyl­ene­bis­(spiro­[4H‐1,3‐benzodioxin‐2,1′‐cyclo­hexane])

Two related compounds containing p‐tert‐butyl‐o‐methyl­ene‐linked phenol or phenol‐derived subunits are described, namely 5,5′‐di‐tert‐butyl‐2,2′‐di­hydroxy‐3,3′‐methyl­ene­di­benz­aldehyde, C₂₃H₂₈O₄, (I), and 6,6′‐di‐tert‐butyl‐8,8′‐methyl­ene­bis­(spiro­[4H‐1,3‐benzo­di­oxin‐2,1′‐cyclo­hexane]), C₃₅H₄₈O₄, (II). Both compounds adopt a `butterfly' shape, with the two phenol or phenol‐derived O atoms in distal positions. Phenol and aldehyde groups in (I) are involved in intramolecular hydrogen bonds and the two dioxin rings in (II) are in distorted half‐chair conformations.     

Metabolism of Deuterated Isomeric 6,7‐Dihydroxydodecanoic Acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae – Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Formation and Characterization of 5‐Hydroxydecano‐4‐lactone (=4,5‐Dihydro‐5‐(1‐hydroxyhexyl)furan‐2(3H)‐one) Isomers

The chemical synthesis of deuterated isomeric 6,7‐dihydroxydodecanoic acid methyl esters 1 and the subsequent metabolism of esters 1 and the corresponding acids 1a in liquid cultures of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Incubation experiments with (6R,7R)‐ or (6S,7S)‐6,7‐dihydroxy(6,7‐²H₂)dodecanoic acid methyl ester ((6R,7R)‐ or (6S,7S)‐(6,7‐²H₂)‐ 1 , resp.) and (±)‐threo‐ or (±)‐erythro‐6,7‐dihydroxy(6,7‐²H₂)dodecanoic acid ((±)‐threo‐ or (±)‐erythro‐(6,7‐²H₂)‐ 1a , resp.) elucidated their metabolic pathway in yeast (Tables 1–3). The main products were isomeric ²H‐labeled 5‐hydroxydecano‐4‐lactones 2 . The absolute configuration of the four isomeric lactones 2 was assigned by chemical synthesis via Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation and chiral gas chromatography (Lipodex ^® E). The enantiomers of threo‐ 2 were separated without derivatization on Lipodex ^® E; in contrast, the enantiomers of erythro‐ 2 could be separated only after transformation to their 5‐O‐(trifluoroacetyl) derivatives. Biotransformation of the methyl ester (6R,7R)‐(6,7‐²H₂)‐ 1 led to (4R,5R)‐ and (4S,5R)‐(2,5‐²H₂)‐ 2 (ratio ca. 4 : 1; Table 2). Estimation of the label content and position of (4S,5R)‐(2,5‐²H₂)‐ 2 showed 95% label at C(5), 68% label at C(2), and no ²H at C(4) (Table 2). Therefore, oxidation and subsequent reduction with inversion at C(4) of 4,5‐dihydroxydecanoic acid and transfer of ²H from C(4) to C(2) is postulated. The 5‐hydroxydecano‐4‐lactones 2 are of biochemical importance: during the fermentation of Streptomyces griseus, (4S,5R)‐ 2 , known as L‐factor, occurs temporarily before the antibiotic production, and (?)‐muricatacin (=(4R,5R)‐5‐hydroxy‐heptadecano‐4‐lactone), a homologue of (4R,5R)‐ 2 , is an anticancer agent.     

(1R,2R)‐1,2‐Di­phenyl‐1,2‐bis(8‐quinoline­sulfonyl­amino)ethyl­enedi­amine–acetone (1/1)

The crystal structure of the new chiral complex (1R,2R)‐1,2‐di­phenyl‐1,2‐bis(8‐quinoline­sulfonyl­amino)‐ ethyl­enedi­amine–acetone (1/1), C₃₂H₂₆N₄O₄S₂^.C₃H₆O, is reported. The conformation of the C₃₂H₂₆N₄O₄S₂ (BQSDA) mol­ecule is determined by a bifurcated N—H?N hydrogen‐bond system. The acetone of solvation is linked to the BQSDA mol­ecule by an N—H?O hydrogen bond.     

1:1 Adduct of (S,S)‐4‐amino‐3,5‐bis­(1‐hydroxy­ethyl)‐1,2,4‐triazole with (S,S)‐1,2‐bis­(2‐hydroxy­propionyl)­hydrazine stabilized by eight hydrogen bonds

The structure of the cocrystallized 1:1 adduct of (S,S)‐4‐amino‐3,5‐bis­(1‐hydroxy­ethyl)‐1,2,4‐triazole and (S,S)‐1,2‐bis­(2‐hydroxy­propionyl)­hydrazine, C₆H₁₂N₄O₂·C₆H₁₂N₂O₄, has tetra­gonal symmetry. All eight O‐ and N‐bound H atoms are involved in inter­molecular hydrogen bonds, resulting in infinite zigzag chains of the triazole mol­ecules, with the hydrazine mol­ecules filling the gaps between the chains and completing a three‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonded array.     

(4R,4aR,6S,7S,7aS)‐6‐Hydro­xy‐7‐hy­droxy­methyl‐4‐methyl­per­hydro­cyclo­penta­[c]­pyran‐1‐one chloro­form solvate from Valeriana laxiflora

The structure of an iridolactone isolated from Valeriana laxiflora was established as (4R,4aR,6S,7S,7aS)‐6‐hydroxy‐7‐hydroxy­methyl‐4‐methyl­per­hydro­cyclo­penta­[c]­pyran‐1‐one chloro­form solvate, C₁₀H₁₆O₄·CHCl₃. The two rings are cis‐fused. The δ‐lactone ring adopts a slightly twisted half‐chair conformation with approximate planarity of the lactone group and the cyclo­pentane ring adopts an envelope conformation. The hydroxy group, the hydroxymethyl group and the methyl group all have β orientations. The absolute configuration was determined using anomalous dispersion data enhanced by the adventitious inclusion of a chloro­form solvent mol­ecule. Hydro­gen bonding, crystal packing and ring conformations are discussed in detail.     

Synthesis and α‐Mannosidase Inhibitory Evaluation of (2R,3R,4S)‐ and (2S,3R,4S)‐2‐(Aminomethyl)pyrrolidine‐3,4‐diol Derivatives

The synthesis of 46 derivatives of (2R,3R,4S)‐2‐(aminomethyl)pyrrolidine‐3,4‐diol is reported (Scheme 1 and Fig. 3), and their inhibitory activities toward α‐mannosidases from jack bean (B) and almonds (A) are evaluated (Table). The most‐potent inhibitors are (2R,3R,4S)‐2‐{[([1,1′‐biphenyl]‐4‐ylmethyl)amino]methyl}pyrrolidine‐3,4‐diol ( 3fs ; IC₅₀(B)=5 μM , K_i=2.5 μM ) and (2R,3R,4S)‐2‐{[(1R)‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐inden‐1‐ylamino]methyl}pyrrolidine‐3,4‐diol ( 3fu ; IC₅₀(B)=17 μM , K_i=2.3 μM ). (2S,3R,4S)‐2‐(Aminomethyl)pyrrolidine‐3,4‐diol ( 6 , R?H) and the three 2‐(N‐alkylamino)methyl derivatives 6fh, 6fs , and 6f are prepared (Scheme 2) and found to inhibit also α‐mannosidases from jack bean and almonds (Table). The best inhibitor of these series is (2S,3R,4S)‐2‐{[(2‐thienylmethyl)amino]methyl}pyrrolidine‐3,4‐diol ( 6o ; IC₅₀(B)=105 μM , K_i=40 μM ). As expected (see Fig. 4), diamines 3 with the configuration of α‐D ‐mannosides are better inhibitors of α‐mannosidases than their stereoisomers 6 with the configuration of β‐D ‐mannosides. The results show that an aromatic ring (benzyl, [1,1′‐biphenyl]‐4‐yl, 2‐thienyl) is essential for good inhibitory activity. If the C‐chain that separates the aromatic system from the 2‐(aminomethyl) substituent is longer than a methano group, the inhibitory activity decreases significantly (see Fig. 7). This study shows also that α‐mannosidases from jack bean and from almonds do not recognize substrate mimics that are bulky around the O‐glycosidic bond of the corresponding α‐D ‐mannopyranosides. These observations should be very useful in the design of better α‐mannosidase inhibitors.