A facile and highly stereoselective synthesis of 1-thiotrehalose

A facile and highly stereoselective synthesis of 1-thiotrehalose, that is, α,α-S-linked trehalose, is described. Glycosylation of configurationally pure α-glucosyl thiol 5 with glucosyl trichloroacetimidate 6 or glucosyl thioimidate 9 followed by deprotection afforded 1-thiotrehalose in excellent α-stereoselectivity and high yield. A different synthetic route to the key building block, α-glucosyl thiol 5, was also investigated in this report.