A One-Step Synthesis of Azide-Tagged Carbohydrates: Versatile ­Intermediates for Glycotechnology

Herein we describe a simple and practical methodology for accessing both the (alpha)-anomers (d-mannose, N-acetyl-dglucosamine, N-acetyl-d-galactosamine, d-lactose) and (alpha)- and (beta)-anomers (d-glucose, d-galactose, l-fucose) of 2´-azidoethyl and azidotriethylene glycol glycosides using free sugars and Dowex 50 (resin) as an efficient catalyst. These azidoalkyl glycosides are increasingly useful synthetic intermediates for glycotechnology.