Synthesis of the Forssman pentasaccharide and terminal tetra-, tri-, and di-saccharide fragments.

The 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl (TMSEt) beta-glycosides of the Forssman pentasaccharide [alpha-D-GalNAc-(1-->3)-beta-D-GalNAc-(1-->3)-alpha-D-Gal- (1-->4)-beta-D-Gal-(1-->4)-D-Glc] and the terminal tetrasaccharide, as well as the methyl glycosides 1 and 2 of the terminal di- and tri-saccharides, were synthesised by silver trifluoromethanesulfonate-promoted alpha-glycosylation of suitably protected mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasaccharide alcohols with 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-azido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl bromide, followed by removal of protecting groups. The anomeric TMSEt group of the Forssman pentasaccharide and terminal tetrasaccharide was removed with trifluoroacetic acid-dichloromethane, to give the corresponding hemiacetal sugars 4 and 6.