Versatile and self-assembling urea-linked neosaccharides from sugar aminoalcohols

The increasing interest in urea compounds as self-assembling molecules, ion transporters and organocatalysts prompted several efforts towards synthetic urea-linked glycomimetics. In this frame we studied in details a novel two steps dimerization reaction of sugar vicinal aminoalcohol building blocks, opening a synthetic path to a series of urea-linked neosaccharides. Glucosamine neodisaccharide possessing an oxazolidinone–urea–oxazolidinone system could be transformed into both cyclic and higher linear neosaccharides. Furthermore, a series of six urea-linked glucosamine and galactosamine neodisaccharides was tested for self-assembling properties by measuring NMR spectra at different temperatures and concentrations as well as by gelation of several organic solvents.