Novel methods towards rare sugars based on site-selective chemistry

Sugars play important roles in the functions of our bodies. Besides common sugars like glucose and lactose, other rare sugars are found in bacteria and other organisms. These rare sugars can have important biological activities, such as anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Interestingly, these rare sugars can be extremely similar to the common sugars found in mammals and plants. Unfortunately, the chemical synthesis of these sugars from common sugars, despite the similarities between the two, remains challenging.

The goal of this thesis is to expand the toolbox on the modification of common sugars, which will eventually lead to the efficient synthesis of useful rare sugars from common sugars.

Dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/11370/6c3fe7eb-ce34-430c-a8de-49dcbfba16c8