Diels-Alder reaction historical perspective

A review of cycloaddition reactions in carbohydrate chemistry is presented. The use of carbohydrate-derived dienes and dienophiles in the Diels-Alder reaction, hetero-Diels-Alder and dipolar addition reactions of carbohydrates are described. Stereochemical aspects of the cycloaddition processes are also discussed, and applications to the synthesis of natural products are included for each reaction type. Much of the material presented has appeared in the literature within the past five years however, earlier studies are also included in order to give a more representative historical perspective. 

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