N-Acetyl-6-sulfo- -glucosamine as a promising mimic of N-Acetyl neuraminic acid

6-Sulfo- -GlcNAc with a molecular geometry close to that of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) was hypothesized to serve as a simple Neu5Ac mimic possessing high potential in biochemical and medicinal applications. The hypothesis was evidenced with a neuraminidase inhibition assay using p-nitrophenyl (pNP) 3-, 4-, and 6-sulfo-β- -GlcNAc (4, 5 and 2a) and 6-sulfo-β- -Glc 6, in which only pNP 6-sulfo-β- -GlcNAc 2a was found to show substantial activity.