Exploring Transition Metals in Carbohydrate Synthesis

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With this award, the Chemical Synthesis program is supporting the work of Professor Hien Nguyen of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Iowa. Professor Nguyen will explore the development of new methods for the effective preparation of alpha-configured glycosyl ureas and 1,2-cis-2-aminosugars via transition metal catalysis. Successful development of these methods will provide new and efficient approaches for the rapid assembly of a number of complex carbohydrate targets, including potentially glycoconjugate-based tumor-associated antigens, aminoglycoside antibiotics, and anti-tubercular drugs. Specific targets for this project include the glycosyl urea antibiotic cinodine, and glycosylphosphatidyl inositide (GPI) anchor pseudo-oligosaccharides. The broader impacts of the proposed project will involve training both undergraduate students and graduate students, in continuing to build a program that merges transition-metal-based catalysis with carbohydrate synthesis. In this way, the project will provide multidisciplinary training for these students, including those from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences. There are also important potential scientific broader impacts, as this work is expected to provide new and generalizable methods for stereocontrolled glycosylation and glycoconjugation to the glycoscience community.