Volume 64, Issue 30 e202508424
Communication

A Visible-Light-Driven O-Glycosylation with Selenoglycosides Mediated by Chalcogen Bonding to Umemoto's Reagent

Dr. Erik Alvarez Valenzuela

Dr. Erik Alvarez Valenzuela

Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 232 Choppin Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803 USA

Both authors contributed equally to this work.

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Dr. Tiffany Duong

Dr. Tiffany Duong

Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 232 Choppin Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803 USA

Both authors contributed equally to this work.

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Vinayak Pradeep

Vinayak Pradeep

Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 232 Choppin Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803 USA

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Prof. Xuxian He

Prof. Xuxian He

Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences, Nicholls St. University, 906 East 1st St., Thibodaux, LA, 70301 USA

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Jacob M. Dobson

Jacob M. Dobson

Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 232 Choppin Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803 USA

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Prof. Semin Lee

Prof. Semin Lee

Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 232 Choppin Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803 USA

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Prof. Kenneth Lopata

Prof. Kenneth Lopata

Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 232 Choppin Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803 USA

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Prof. Justin R. Ragains

Corresponding Author

Prof. Justin R. Ragains

Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 232 Choppin Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803 USA

E-mail: [email protected]

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First published: 09 May 2025

Graphical Abstract

Visible-light irradiation of solutions of phenylselenoglycosides and Umemoto's reagent in the presence of alcohols results in often high-yielding formation of O-glycosidic products. Experimental and computational work suggests that chalcogen-bonded electron–donor–acceptor (EDA) complexes are critical intermediates in this process which may proceed through photoinduced electron transfer.

Abstract

The activation of chalcogenoglycosides for O-glycosylation typically involves strong electrophiles requiring low temperature. Herein, we demonstrate that visible-light irradiation of selenoglycosides in the presence of Umemoto's reagent results in often high-yielding O-glycosylation. We provide evidence that this process is mediated by a novel mode of reactivity, specifically photoinduced electron transfer within a chalcogen-bonded complex.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.