An efficient chemoenzymatic route to methyl 4-O-benzyl-2,3-anhydro-β-d-lyxopyranoside from methyl β-d-xylopyranoside

Methyl 4-O-benzyl-2,3-anhydro-β-d-lyxopyranoside, an intermediate for the preparation of methyl β-d-xylopyranoside derivatives modified at C-2, was obtained in five steps in 58% yield. The synthetic sequence starts from methyl β-d-xylopyranoside through two main steps involving regioselective enzymatic acetylation and deacetylation catalyzed by lipase PS.