Synthesis of a backbone hexasaccharide fragment of the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan I.

Synthesis of the fully unprotected hexasaccharide backbone of the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan I is described. The strategy relies on iterative coupling of a common pentenyl disaccharide glycosyl donor followed by a late-stage oxidation of the C-6 positions of the galactose residues. The disaccharide donor is prepared by an efficient chemoselective armed-disarmed coupling of a thiophenyl rhamnoside donor with a pentenyl galactoside acceptor bearing the strongly electron-withdrawing pentafluorobenzoyl ester (PFBz) protective group.