Synthesis of a core arabinomannan oligosaccharide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The synthesis of a core arabinomannan (AM) oligosaccharide from Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been achieved using a convergent [6 + 6] glycosylation strategy and a defined set of building blocks. Dodecasaccharide 1, containing the key AM structural features of lipoarabinomannan (LAM), was obtained in excellent yield and selectivity from hexamannan 3 and hexaarabinan 5. This flexible synthetic strategy involves late-stage couplings and modifications, thus providing ready access to several different LAM fragments. The incorporation of a thiol linker at the reducing end of the oligosaccharide allows for the attachment of these compounds to microarrays and protein carriers.