Synthesis of <i>N</i>-glycan mimics for investigating the influence of the <i>N</i>-acetyl group in core GlcNAc2 on the folded conformation

Abstract The N-acetyl (NAc) group of N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc) in the core structure of N-glycans is believed to stabilize their folded conformation. In this study, we synthesized Man3GlcNAc2, the common structural motif of N-glycan, bearing NAc groups and Man3Glc2 having no NAc group to understand the differences in their folded conformations due to the presence or absence of the NAc group by using 2D-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. In Man3GlcNAc2, the branched α1-6Man was found to be positioned closer to the core sugar residue compared with Man3Glc2.