Crystal structures, circular dichroism spectra and absolute configurations of some L-ascorbic acid derivatives

Chiral 2,3-O,O-dibenzyl ethers of L-ascorbic acid with 4-(5,6-epoxy)- (4) and 6-O-tosyl- (8) functional groups were studied by X-ray crystallography and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The stereostructure of 2,3-O,O-dibenzyl-5,6-isopropylidene-L-ascorbic acid (6) and 8 was determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Comparison of the CD-spectra of 4 and 8 with the CD-spectra of their synthetic precursors (2–3, 5–7) and L-ascorbic acid (1) itself, as well as crystal structures of 6 and 8 permitted to deduce the absolute configuration of 4. Thus, the chiral atoms C-4 and C-5 in 4 have R and S configurations, which is consistent with the configuration of 1. q 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.