Highly stereoselective α-glycosylation with GalN3 donors enabled collective synthesis of mucin-related tumor associated carbohydrate antigens

Abstract

Mucin-related tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) are important and interesting targets for cancer vaccine therapy. However, efficient access to a library of mucin-related TACAs remains a challenging task. One of the key issues is the challenging construction of α-GalNAc linkages. Here, we report highly stereoselective α-glycosylation with GalN₃N-phenyl trifluoroacetimidate donors, which features excellent yields, outstanding stereoselectivities, broad substrate scope and mild reaction conditions. This method is successfully applied to highly stereoselective synthesis of GalN₃-α-O-Ser, which served as the common intermediate for collective synthesis of a wide range of TACAs including T_N antigen, ST_N antigen, 2,6 STF antigen, 2,3 STF antigen, glycophorin and cores 1–8 mucin-type O-glycans. In particular, the rationale for this highly stereoselective α-glycosylation is provided for the first time using DFT calculations and mechanistic studies, highlighting the crucial roles of reagent combinations (TMSI and Ph₃PO) and the H-bonding directing effect of the N₃ group.