N-benzyl-2,3-oxazolidinone as a glycosyl donor for selective alpha-glycosylation and one-pot oligosaccharide synthesis involving 1,2-cis-glycosylation.

Glycosylation reactions using N-benzyl-2,3-trans-oxazolidinones as the glycosyl donors were shown to be highly alpha-selective. Advantages of the donor include facile preparation in gram-scale preparation and simple deprotection procedures. Subsequently, a one-pot oligosaccharide synthesis involving 1,2-cis glycosidic linkages was demonstrated using the novel glycosyl donors.