Stereocontrolled Access to N-Glycosides via Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive C(sp <sup>3</sup> )−N(sp <sup>3</sup> ) Cross-Coupling
N-Glycosides are pivotal in diverse biological processes and have garnered significant attention in chemistry, biology, and modern therapeutics. However, conventional synthetic methods, predominantly relying on ionic N-glycosylation with amine nucleophiles under acidic conditions, suffer from inherent limitations such as poor stereoselectivity and limited product diversity. Herein, we report a robust and highly stereoselective approach to N-glycosides via nickel-catalyzed reductive coupling of glycosyl bromides with electrophilic amines. This method exhibits broad functional group compatibility and delivers N-glycosides with β-selectivity. The synthetic utility is demonstrated by the rapid assembly of diverse glycosyl primary amine-derived building blocks and the late-stage functionalization of bioactive molecules. Finally, N-glycoside compound 3b exhibits potential anticancer activity, further highlighting the utility of this methodology. A DFT calculation profile revealed the mechanism of this nickel-catalyzed N-glycosylation reaction.
Authors
- Si-Yu Wan
- Yanjie Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0110-6662)
- Song Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0348-5501)
- Xue Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5098-4616)
- Bing-Qi Zhou
- Zhuo Zhang
- Rui Liu
- Zhen-Kun Luo
- Yi Lyv
- Jia-Le Liu
Institutions
- Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
- Medicina (PL)
- Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Catalysis
- Published
- 2026-04-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.6c01072
- Primary Topic
- Carbohydrate Chemistry and Synthesis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities