Glycosylation with glycosyl N-phenyltrifluoroacetimidates (PTFAI) and a perspective of the future development of new glycosylation methods.

The glycosyl N-phenyltrifluoroacetimidates (PTFAI) have within the last ten years been applied in the synthesis of a wide variety of the oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. Especially, these donors are found advantageous in glycosidic coupling with 'arming' sugar donors, ketose donors, and with less nucleophilic acceptors. A comprehensive review of the PTFAI donors is provided in a hope to reflect from a particular angle the current status and future trend of the glycosylation chemistry.