Synthesis of the Methyl Glycosides of a Di- and Two Trisaccharide Fragments Specific for the Shigella flexneri Serotype 2a O-Antigen

ABSTRACT

The stereocontrolled synthesis of methyl α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (EC, 1), methyl α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-[α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (B(E)C, 3) and methyl α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranoside (ECD, 4) is described; these constitute the methyl glycosides of branched and linear fragments of the O-specific polysaccharide of Shigella flexneri serotype 2a. Emphasis was put on the construction of the 1,2-cis EC glycosidic linkage resulting in the selection of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl fluoride (8) as the donor. Condensation of methyl 2,3-O-isopropylidene-4-O-trimethylsilyl-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (11) and 8 afforded the fully protected αE-disaccharide 20, as a common intermediate in the synthesis of 1 and 3, together with the corresponding βE-anomer 21. Deacetalation and regioselective benzoylation of 20, followed by glycosylation with 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate (15) afforded the branched trisaccharide 25. Full deprotection of 20 and 25 afforded the targets 1 and 3, respectively. The corresponding βE-disaccharide, namely, methyl β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (βEC, 2) was prepared analogously from 21. Two routes to trisaccharide 4 were considered. Route 1 involved the coupling of a precursor to residue E and a disaccharide CD. Route 2 was based on the condensation of an appropriate EC donor and a precursor to residue D. The former route afforded a 1:2 mixture of the αE and βE condensation products which could not be separated, neither at this stage, nor after deacetalation. In route 2, the required αE-anomer was isolated at the disaccharide stage and transformed into 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-2,3-di-O-benzoyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate (48) as the EC donor. Methyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-4,6-O-isopropylidene-β-D-glucopyran-oside (19) was preferred to its benzylidene analogue as the precursor to residue D. Condensation of 19 and 48 and stepwise deprotection of the glycosylation product afforded the target 4.     

Linear Synthesis of the Methyl Glycosides of Tetra- and Pentasaccharide Fragments Specific for the Shigella flexneri Serotype 2a O-Antigen

ABSTRACT

Starting from the known methyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-2-O-benzoyl-α-L-rhamnopyranoside, the stepwise linear syntheses of methyl α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→ 3)-[α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→ 4)]-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (AB(E)C, 4), and methyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→ 2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→ 3)-[α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (DAB(E)C, 5) are described; these constitute the methyl glycosides of a branched tetra- and pentasaccharide fragments of the O-specific polysaccharide of Shigella flexneri serotype 2a, respectively. The chemoselective O-deacetylation at position 2_B and/or 2_A of key tri- and tetrasaccharide intermediates bearing a protecting group at position 2_C was a limiting factor. As such a step occurred once in the synthesis of 4 and twice in the synthesis of 5, the regioselective introduction of residue A on a B(E)C diol precursor (12) and that of residue D on an AB(E)C diol precursor (19) was also attempted. In all cases, a trichloroacetimidate donor was involved. The latter pathway was found satisfactory for the construction of the target 4 using the appropriate tri-O-benzoyl rhamnosyl donor. However, attempted chain elongation of 12 using 2-O-acetyl-3,4-di-O-benzyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate (8) resulted in an inseparable mixture which needed to be benzoylated to allow the isolation of the target tetrasaccharide. Besides, condensation of the corresponding tetrasaccharide acceptor and the N-acetylglucosaminyl donor was sluggish. As the target pentasaccharide was isolated in a poor yield, this route was abandoned.     

Temperature effect over structure and photochemical properties of nanostructured SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> powders

We successfully synthesized tin dioxide nanoparticles with polyhedral morphology via an ethylene glycol assisted sol-gel approach. The structural characteristics of three tin dioxide samples were investigated after being thermally treated at 400°C, 600°C and 800°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns clearly show the formation of single phase tin dioxide nanoparticles, with crystallite size of 6–20 nm, in good correlation with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirms the formation of 6nm polyhedral nanoparticles for the 400°C sample. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra suggest a high concentration of oxygen vacancies. The oxygen vacancy concentration increases with temperature, due to the combined action of the formation of V_O and the energetic O compensation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis also confirms the formation of single phase tin dioxide and the presence of oxygen vacancies in good agreement with UV-VIS and PL data.

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Scanning force microscopy as a tool to investigate the properties of polyglycerol ester foams

Foamed products are a popular class of food products. The mechanism of stabilization of the air bubbles is often only partially understood. The current study aims at better understanding the stabilization of air-water interfaces through the low molecular weight surfactant polyglycerol ester (PGE). We chose PGE films as an exemplary case for a non-equilibrium situation at an air-water interface--a situation that requires the development of new experimental techniques. Several different film preparation and transfer methods onto solid substrates have been tested. The films were then investigated by scanning force microscopy, and structural artifacts associated to the sample preparation were identified and discussed. In addition to the study of Langmuir monolayers and Gibbs adsorption layers, we have proposed a new approach to investigate the skins of foam bubbles. We thereby were able to determine that PGE indeed covers bubbles by a multilayer structure and that the pH plays a role in the structuring of the films. We show that a combination of different film preparation methods allows us to get an insight into the aggregation behavior of PGE at the air-water interface and thereby better understand the stabilization mechanism of this particular surfactant.     

Flow of a Maxwell fluid between two side walls induced by a constantly accelerating plate

The unsteady flow of a Maxwell fluid induced by a constantly accelerating plate between two side walls perpendicular to the plate is studied. Exact solutions for the velocity field are established by means of the Fourier sine transforms. The adequate tangential stresses are also determined. The similar solutions for a Newtonian fluid are obtained as limiting cases of our solutions. In the absence of the side walls, the similar solutions for the unsteady flow over an infinite flat plate are recovered. Finally, for comparison, the velocity field in the middle of the channel and the shear stresses at the bottom wall and on the side walls are plotted for different values of the material constants.