Glycosidation of Sialic Acid

Abstract

N -Acetylneuraminic Acid (Neu5Ac), A Typical Sialic Acid, Located At The Non-Reducing Ends Of Carbohydrate Chains Of Glycoproteins And Glycolipids Plays An Important Role In Biological Phenomena. The Synthesis Of Oligosaccharides Which Contain Neu5Ac Has Focused With Clarification Of Their Vital Functions. In the synthesis of the sialylated oligosaccharides the most difficult problem remaining is the glycosidation of sialic acid, 3-deoxy-2-nonulopyranosonic acid, which has to be introduced into the oligosaccharide acceptor in the α-glycosidic linkage. This review article shows the enzymatic and synthetic approaches to the glycosidation of sialic acid, in particular, the methods involving an introduction of a substituent into 3-position of sialic acid. © 1989, The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan. All rights reserved.