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A series of glycitylamines, which were prepared in few steps from readily available carbohydrates, were tested for their ability to inhibit tuberculosis growth in an Alamar Blue BCG colourimetric assay. Several derivatives, including (2R,3R)-1-(hexadecylamine)pent-4-ene-2,3-diol, (2R,3R)-1-(hexadecylmethylamino)pent-4-ene-2,3-diol and 5-deoxy-5-hexadecylmethylamino-D-arabinitol, were prepared in good to excellent (44-90%) overall yield and exhibited micromolar (20-41μM) inhibitory activity that was similar to the first line tuberculosis (TB) drug ethambutol (39μM) in the same assay. The ease and low cost of the synthesis of the glycitylamines offers definite advantages for their use as potential TB drugs., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The stereocontrolled synthesis of a fully elaborated C1-11 subunit of madeirolide A is described, utilizing an asymmetric boron aldol reaction and a cis-selective hetero-Michael cyclization to form the tetrahydropyran ring, followed by efficient formation of the required C5 α-glycoside.