Uronic acids reduction

Reduction of uronic acids Uronic acids (UA) were converted to the corresponding neutral sugars (NS) by carbodiimide activation of the carboxyl groups followed by a reduction with NaBD4 according to the method of Kim and Carpita [5]. In order to achieve a complete reduction of the uronic acids the procedure was repeated once. 

Dermatan sulfate, also termed chondroitin sulfate B, a related glycosaminoglycan constituent of connective tissue, was known to be composed of galactosamine and a uronic acid, originally believed to be glucuronic acid but then claimed to be iduronic acid based largely on color reactions and paper chromatography. However, the d or L-enantiomer status of the latter monosaccharide was not clear. Jeanloz and Stoffyn unequivocally characterized the monosaccharide as L-iduronic acid by consecutive desulfation, reduction, and hydrolysis of the polysaccharide, followed by isolation of the crystalline 2,3,4-tri-0-acetyl-l,6-anhydro-/ -L-idopyranose, which was shown to be identical to an authentic specimen synthesized from 1,2-0-isopropylidene-/ -L-idofuranose.34... 

The synthesis of L-ribofuranose derivatives from 16a has been carried out by Walker and Hogenkamp (35). The procedure involves oxidation of the hydroxymethyl group of 16a with dimethyl sulfoxide N,N dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and acid hydrolysis of the protecting group to give L-riburonic acid, which was converted into methyl (methyl a,/ -ribofurano-sid)uronates (26). Reduction of 26 with sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)alu-minum hydride gave the chromatographically separable anomers of methyl L-ribofuranoside (27). 

Chaplin used methanolysis for the analysis of carbohydrates in glycoproteins. His method was a variation of the foregoing procedures, with an improvement of using tert-hvAyX alcohol to remove hydrogen chloride by coevaporation, instead of prolonged trituration with silver carbonate. His method is useful for samples containing uronic acids and lipids. Mononen studied methanolysis, followed by deamination and reduction with borohydride, for determination of the monosaccharide constituents of glycoconjugates. This method was applied to a lipid-free, protein fraction of rat brain. 

All of the possibilities mentioned are credible perhaps each participates to some extent in the reaction. No studies similar to those with aldoses have been made of substituted uronic acids, and no intermediates have been isolated. Aso,96 who first suggested 72 as a precursor for 2-furaldehyde and reductic acid,92 has prepared 72, but its significance in the decarboxylation reactions has not been fully examined.123... 

Aso98 first proposed 5-hydroxy-2-oxo-3-pentenal (94) as an intermediate in the conversion of uronic acids to reductic acid,190 191 but this proposal does not appear to have been experimentally tested, although the intermediate was prepared.190 Isbell121 suggested a mechanism in which the formation of reductic acid and 2-furaldehyde from pentoses and uronic acids results from the reaction of different tautomers of 94. Although other mechanisms have been suggested,100 102 115 Isbell s original scheme seems adequate to explain the experimental facts. 

The formation of reductic acid and 2-furaldehyde from uronic acids is believed to occur through the same intermediate (72a) that is generated on decarboxylation of 3,4-dideoxy-D-g/t/cero-hex-3-enos-uluronic acid (71) (see Section III,3 p. 191). However, little is... 

Deamination studies have aided attempts to locate the positions of the O-sulfate groups in heparin. From the results of deamination and periodate-oxidation studies, it was concluded239 that half of the uronic acid residues are sulfated at C-2, and sequential periodate oxidation, reduction with sodium borohydride, acid treatment, and deamination gave 2,5-anhydro-D-mannose 6-sulfate.240,241 Sulfated O-(hexosyluronic acid)-2,5-anhydro-D-mannose and sulfated uronic acids were subsequently isolated, and the isolation (in 65% yield) of the disulfated 0-(idosyluronic acid)-2,5-anhydro-D-mannose (137) from heparin, together with the 13C n.m.r. spectra of 137 and heparin, suggested243 that at least two thirds of the heparin structure consists of the repeating unit 138. 

The methylated D-galactose derivatives 66 and 67 were thereafter released by mild hydrolysis with acid. The product was reduced with sodium borodeuteride, the reduction product methylated with trideuteriomethyl iodide, and the ether analyzed. From the disappearance of the ethers derived from the uronic acid and the 2-substi-tuted L-rhamnose, and the appearance of the ethers 68 and 69, the... 

G. O. Aspinall, Reduction of uronic acid in polysaccharides, Methods Carbohydr. Chem., 5 (1965) 397-400. 

T. Fontaine, B. Fournet, and Y. Karamanos, A new procedure for the reduction of uronic acid containing polysaccharides, J. Microbiol. Methods, 20 (1994) 149-157. 

The structure of the uronic acid was established as follows (a) periodate oxidation, followed by bromine oxidation, gave 2-hydroxy-3-methoxy-L-erj/f/tro-succinic acid 1413 (b) reduction of the methyl glycoside methyl ester with lithium aluminum hydride, followed by hydrolysis, gave 4-0-methyl-D-glucose.13... 

Like the parent compounds, the methyl ethers of aldobiouronic acids are resistant to acid hydrolysis, and it is difficult to carry out hydrolysis without some decomposition of the product. This difficulty has recently been overcome by reduction of the uronic acid residue with lithium aluminum hydride66-67 the resulting disaccharide then undergoes hydrolysis without difficulty. The first reduction of the uronic acid residue of a methylated aldobiouronic acid methyl ester was accomplished by Levene, Meyer and Kuna,69 who reduced the methylated aldobiouronic acid from gum arabic with hydrogen in the presence of copper chromite catalyst under the conditions previously used701 for reducing the acety-... 

The following Tables (II, III, and IV) record appropriate data and references relating to the methyl ethers of some hexuronic acids and their derivatives. In the case of methyl ethers of aldobiouronic acids (Table V), data have been recorded only for crystalline derivatives. Where uronic acids have been characterized by reduction to the corresponding hexose, reference should be made to the previous articles in this series dealing with the methyl ethers of D-glucose,71 D-galactose,72 and D-mannose.73... 

In most cases, uronic acids are liberated from acidic polysaccharides by hydrolysis leading to irreproducible concomitant formation of lactones. Several methods to circumvent this problem have been published describing conversion of the uronic acid into methyl esters followed by reduction with borohydride or borodeuteride reagents and subsequent hydrolysis and GC-MS detection [129]. Other techniques are based on the liberation and quantification of carbon dioxide. Direct determination of uronic acid residues in hydrolyzates has frequently been performed according to colorimetric assays, which are rather insensitive and have thus mostly been replaced by high-performance anion exchange chromatography (HP-AEC) methods [130-132]. 

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