“…Regioselectivity is a prominent challenge in organic chemistry in general, and in carbohydrate chemistry in particular, since carbohydrates contain several hydroxyl groups of similar reactivity. However, small differences in reactivity can nonetheless be utilized so that a desired protection pattern can be achieved in one or few steps without making use of complex reaction sequences. , For example, organotin reagents, such as tributyltin oxide or dibutyltin oxide, , are often used to accomplish regioselective protection, including acylation, − alkylation, − silylation, , sulfonylation, ,, and glycosylation. − The tin intermediates are easily prepared, and the methods are reliable and high-yielding, having become widely employed. However, the origin of the resulting regioselectivities has not been fully clarified.…”