The syntheses of 4-nitrophenyl beta-glycosides of the 3-thio and 4-thio analogues of the two principal 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-hexoses found in living systems, GlcNAc and GalNAc, are described. While synthesis of the 4-thio analogues could be achieved via nucleophilic displacements of sulfonate derivatives with thioacetate, problems with neighbouring group acetamido participation necessitated the use of sulfamidate intermediates for the 3-thio analogues. These 3- and 4-thio analogues are employed in the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of thio-oligosaccharide analogues of structures present in glycosaminoglycans, glycoproteins and glycolipids.
