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The application of the "rigid spacer-mediated linkage between nonreacting centers" concept to the preparation of nonsymmetrical bis-spiroketal structures is demonstrated by the stereoselective synthesis of the bis-spiro fructodisaccharide 1, a minor component of industrial caramels. An o-xylylene bridge has been used to limit the conformational space during the intramolecular glycosylation-spirocyclization reaction of a difructopyranose precursor, thus controlling both the ring size and the stereochemistry at the spiro centers. [Structure: see text]

Enantiopure N,N-dialkylhydrazones 3 smoothly react with N-benzyloxycarbonyl-N-benzyl glycine as an aminoketene precursor to afford trans-3-amino-4-alkylazetidin-2-ones 4 as single diasteromers. As an exception, hydrazone 3f (R = OBn) affords cis-(3R,4R)-4f under modified conditions. N-N Bond cleavage of cycloadducts 4 afforded free azetidinones 5 in high yields. [structure: see text]

[reaction: see text] A one-pot synthesis of C(2)-symmetric di-d-fructose dianhydrides having the 1,6,9,13-tetraoxadispiro [4.2.4.2]tetradecane skeleton has been accomplished via intramolecular aglycon delivery from (6 --> 6) xylylene-tethered fructofuranose precursors. The stereochemical outcome of the glycosylation-spiroketalization process is governed by the geometrical constraints imposed by the rigid tetracyclic structure of the final compound.

A model polyether-based ion channel-like compound was rationally designed and synthesized. Macromolecules 1c-f were incorporated into phospholipid vesicles and shown to facilitate the transmembrane sodium transport.

[reaction: see text] A convergent design for the preparation of a polyoxyethylene-based channel molecule is presented, and the synthesis of the key unit 2 required for the projected construction is described. The essential elements of the design included face to face oriented macrorings spaced by rigid trans-fused oxanes. The strategy combines conformational predictability of C-linked oxanyl systems and ring-closing metathesis for the synthesis of crown ethers with engineerable ion-binding abilities.