A Selective Synthesis of 3,3-Di-C-(hydroxymethyl)-3-deoxy-furanorono-1,4-lactone in the Formose Reaction

The formose reaction, by which a complex mixture of sugars and sugar alcohols (the so-called formose) are produced by the base-catalyzed condensation of formaldehyde, has received much attention in connection with the prebiotic synthesis of carbohydrates2 and the microbial utilization of formose.3–5 Formose, however, has not been useful yet, because of the complexity of this product mixture (Fig. 1a). Therefore, it seemed desirable to make the reaction more selective.