Abstract Ribosylation of trimethylsilyl derivative of 1-(4-nitrobenzyl)-5-carbamoylimidazolium- 4-olate (5) with 1, 2, 3, 5-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-ribofuranose in the presence of stannic chloride and trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate afforded no 5-O-glycosides but N-1 ribosylated