Synthesis 2008(19): 3148-3154  
DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1067259
SPECIALTOPIC
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart ˙ New York

Synthesis of Differentially Protected myo- and chiro-Inositols from d-Xylose: Stereoselectivity in Intramolecular SmI2-Promoted Pinacol Reactions

Giovanni Luchettia, Kejia Dingb, Alexander Kornienko*a, Marc d’Alarcao*b
a Department of Chemistry, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
Fax: +1(575)8355364; e-Mail: akornien@nmt.edu;
b Department of Chemistry, San José State University, San José, CA 95192-0101, USA
Fax: +1(408)9244945; e-Mail: mdalarcao@science.sjsu.edu;
Further Information

Publication History

Received 20 May 2008
Publication Date:
05 September 2008 (online)

Abstract

Methods for the enantioselective conversion of d-xylose into differentially protected myo-inositol and l-chiro-inositol have been developed. The key transformation is a highly diastereoselective intramolecular SmI2-promoted pinacol coupling. The stereoselectivity was extremely dependent on the conditions, suggesting a change in mechanism. Preliminary mechanistic experiments and possible explanations for this behavior are discussed.