Synthesis of N‐Glycosides by Silver‐Assisted Gold Catalysis

Abstract The synthesis of N ‐glycosides from stable glycosyl donors in a catalytic fashion is still challenging, though they exist ubiquitously in DNA, RNA, glycoproteins, and other biological molecules. Herein, silver‐assisted gold‐catalyzed activation of alkynyl glycosyl carbonate donors is shown to be a versatile approach for the synthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, asparagine glycosides and quinolin‐2‐one N ‐glycosides. Thus synthesized nucleosides were subjected to the oxidation–reduction sequence for the conversion of Rib f ‐ into Ara f ‐ nucleosides, giving access to nucleosides that are otherwise difficult to synthesize. Furthermore, the protocol is demonstrated to be suitable for the synthesis of 2’‐modified nucleosides in a facile manner. Direct attachment of an asparagine‐containing dipeptide to the glucopyranose and subsequent extrapolation to afford the dipeptide disaccharide unit of chloroviruses is yet another facet of this endeavor.