Abstract
Many bacterial, fungal, parasitical and plant species produce glycans containing O-furanoside linkages. These glycoconjugates are often essential for the viability of the organisms that produce them, and an increasing amount of work focused on their chemical synthesis has been carried out in recent years. However, despite these advances, compared to the synthesis of pyranose glycosides, this area has been poorly investigated. In this review we highlight the challenges inherent in the synthesis of furanose glycosides, summarize achievements in the field and suggest directions for future work.
