Mechanistic Studies of Bismuth(V)-Mediated Thioglycoside Activation Reveal Differential Reactivity of Anomers

The mechanism of bismuth(V)-mediated thioglycoside activation was examined using reaction kinetics and quantum chemical reaction models. NMR experiments show an unusual nonlinear growth/decay curve for the glycosylation reaction. Further studies suggest an anomeric inversion of the β-glycoside donor to the α-donor during its activation, even in the presence of a neighboring 2-position acetate. Interestingly, in situ anomerization was not observed in the activation of an α-glycoside donor, and this anomer also showed faster reaction times and higher product diastereoselectivites. Density functional theory calculations identify the structure of the promoter triphenyl bismuth ditriflate, [Ph₃Bi(OTf)₂, 1], in solution and map out the energetics of its interactions with the two thioglycoside anomers. These calculations suggest that 1 must bind the thiopropyl arm to induce triflate loss. The computational analyses also show that, unlike most O-glycosides, the β- and α-donor S-glycosides are similar in energy. One energetically reasonable anomerization pathway of the donors is an S_N1-like mechanism promoted by forming a bismuth-sulfonium adduct with the Lewis acidic Bi(V) for the formation of an oxacarbenium intermediate. Finally, the computed energy compensations needed to form these α vs β Bi adducts is a possible explanation for the differential reactivity of these donors.