Three Solvent-Free Catalytic Approaches to the Acetal Functionalization of Carbohydrates and Their Applicability to One-Pot Generation of Orthogonally Protected Building Blocks

Three alternative protocols were developed to carry out the selective installation of acetal groups on carbohydrates and polyols under mildly acidic, solvent-free conditions. One protocol is based on a diol/aldehyde condensation at room temperature, with an acetolysis process serving for the activation of the carbonyl component. A second approach is based on an orthoester-mediated activation of the carbonyl component at high temperature. The third protocol is instead entailing a transacetalation mechanism. Combination of these methods allows a wide set of acetal-protected building blocks to be accessed in short times under very simple experimental conditions working under air. The scope of the latter two approaches was also extended to unusual one-pot synthetic sequences leading to concomitant Fischer glycosidation/acetal protection of reducing sugars.