A practical synthesis of the potent class I α-mannosidase inhibitor kifunensine (1) beginning from the inexpensive and readily available starting material l-ascorbic acid (15) is described. The protected amino-alcohol ((2 R, 3 R, 4 R, 5 R)-5-amino-2, 3: 4, 6- diisopropylidenedioxyhexanol, 11) served as a key intermediate from which several N-1 substituted kifunensine analogues (including N-methyl, N-cyclohexyl, and N-bis ( ...