Palladium-Catalyzed Direct C-H Glycosylation of Free (N-H) Indole and Tryptophan by Norbornene-Mediated Regioselective C-H Activation

Abstract

We describe the palladium-catalyzed direct C-H glycosylation of free N-H indole or tryptophan for the stereoselective synthesis of 2-glycosylindoles and tryptophan-C-glycosides. This reaction relies on the ortho-directing transient mediator norbornene, which underwent regioselective C-H functionalization at the indole or tryptophan ring, providing high chemoselectivity. This method offers a more straightforward, step-economical, and cost-effective route to construct C-glycosides. The gram-scale amenable building blocks can be further functionalized at C3 and N-H, displaying the robustness of present method.