August | 2012 | mcgarrigleresearch

Our latest paper was published online today in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. as an early view paper. The paper describes an organocatalytic method for forming disaccharides containing a 2-deoxy monosaccharide from galactals. Just 1 mol% of a thiourea catalyst is required for this highly efficient and stereoselective method. This work was carried out in collaboration with Dr Camen Galan and Ed Balmond at the University of Bristol, as well as Dr Diane Coe at GSK. Special congratulations to Ed (pictured). This is the first publication arising from his PhD research in Bristol. Ed is co-funded by GSK and the EPSRC-funded Bristol Chemical Synthesis Doctoral Training Centre.

The paper can be read (with a subscription) at the following links:

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, early view; DOI: 10.1002/anie.201204505

Angew. Chem. 2012, early view; DOI: 10.1002/ange.201204505 [in German]

We have just returned from the 26th International Carbohydrate Symposium in sunny Madrid. This was an excellent meeting and was a great opportunity to showcase some of our research into developing catalysts for carbohydrate chemistry to the glycoscience community. Ed Balmond presented a poster on the use of organocatalysts in glycosylation reactions which attracted lots of interest. The work is part of an ongoing collaboration with Carmen Galan (University of Bristol) and Diane Coe (GSK). In addition to lots of excellent science, there was time to experience some Spanish culture and enjoy some excellent Spanish food while we were in Madrid.