Synthesis of oligosaccharides related to the repeating unit of the capsular polysaccharide from Streptococcus pneumoniae type 37

A tetra- and a pentasaccharide were synthesized as analogues to the structure of the Streptococcus pneumoniae type 37 capsular polysaccharide, a homopolymer with a disaccharide-repeating unit of -->3)[beta-D-Glcp-(1-->2)]-beta-D-Glcp-(1-->. Synthesis of the tetrasaccharide employed a beta-(1-->2)-diglycosylation of a beta-(1-->3)-linked disaccharide. Subsequently, the pentasaccharide was synthesized from a suitably protected tetrasaccharide derivative by a beta-(1-->3)-extension at O-3'. Steric crowding was found to be an important factor in the formation of the pentasaccharide.