Two iminosugars have been designed and synthesized as potential inhibitors of UDP-Galf transferase, an enzyme involved in Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall biosynthesis. The design is based on a proposed model of the transition state for the transferase reaction. One of the two racemic compounds is the first reported inhibitor of the target enzyme from M. smegmatis.

A systematic study of the diastereoselectivity of the radical carboazidation of methylenecyclohexane derivatives is presented. Several substitution patterns leading to a high level of stereocontrol have been identified. Axial attack is the preferred reaction pathway for cyclohexyl radicals, and excellent stereoselectivities can be obtained by introducing an axial substitutent at position 2. In this case, a second equatorial substituent at position 2 may be tolerated without a large detrimental effect on the diastereoselectivity. Finally, a high level of equatorial attack is observed with a very bulky substituent at position 2.

Two new 1-N-iminosugars have been prepared as hexofuranose analogues in an efficient manner by an RCM-based route. Both 3,4-disubstituted pyrrolidines display moderate inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis galactan biosynthesis. [structure: see text]

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