A new route into hexahydro-cyclopenta[b]pyrrole-cis-3a,6-diols. Synthesis of constrained bicyclic analogues of pyrrolidine azasugars

Compounds that simultaneously combine charge and conformational features of glycosyltransfer transition states are of interest as transition state analog inhibitors. The synthesis of a central intermediate, cis-3a,6-dihydroxy-hexahydro-cyclopenta[b]pyrrol-2-one, which yielded a family of substituted cis-3a,6-dihydroxy-hexahydro-cyclopenta[b]pyrroles that combine conformational biasing and transition state charge mimicry, is described. The key steps in this synthesis involve synthesis of (2-azido-1,3-dihydroxy-cyclopentyl)-acetic acid ethyl ester in four steps from cyclopentenone, followed by an efficient reductive cyclization of the azide to the bicyclic lactam. The lactam was subsequently converted into the corresponding bicyclic pyrrolidine, and analogs having phenyl, hydroxyl, and phosphate substituents.