Iminosugars

Iminosugars form undoubtedly the most attractive of carbohydrate mimics reported so far. In these structures, the substitution of the endocyclic oxygen of sugars by a basic nitrogen atom leads to remarkable biological properties and raises many challenges in organic synthesis. Since the discovery of their biological activity as glycosidase inhibitors in the 1970’s, these polyvalent molecules have progressively made their way from the laboratory to the clinic. The impressive series of discoveries in the field over the past ten years indicates clearly that it is “a boom time” for iminosugar chemistry and biology. The scope of their profile as inhibitors has been extended to…