The enantiomers of glucuronolactone are excellent chirons
for the
synthesis of the 10 stereoisomeric 2,5-dideoxy-2,5-iminohexitols by
formation of the pyrrolidine ring by nitrogen substitution at C2 and
C5, with either retention or inversion of configuration; the stereochemistry
at C3 may be adjusted during the synthesis to give seven stereoisomers
from each enantiomer. A definitive side-by-side comparison of the
glycosidase inhibition of a panel of 13 glycosidases showed that 8
of the 10 stereoisomers showed significant inhibition of at least
one glycosidase