Jian Yin, Torsten Linker

• Bicyclic carbohydrate 1,2-lactones have been synthesized in only two steps and high yields by saponification and subsequent cyclization from known malonate addition products to glycals. The gluco-configured lactone serves as an important precursor for diversity-oriented syntheses. Thus, stereoselective opening of the lactone ring was realized with various nucleophiles in the presence of Sc(OTf)(3). This enabled the introduction of different substituents at the anomeric position, to afford a broad variety of 1-functionalized carbohydrates. On the other hand, stereoselective alpha-substitution of the gluco-configured lactone with different electrophiles and subsequent ring opening gives a collection of 2-functionalized saccharides. More than 30 products have been isolated in analytically pure form, and their configurations were unequivocally established by various NMR methods. Thus, carbohydrate 1,2-lactones are attractive precursors for the stereoselective synthesis of diverse saccharides.