Original Synthesis of Linear, Branched and Cyclic Oligoglycerol Standards

A variety of authentic standards of linear, branched and cyclic oligomers of glycerol, with well-defined structures and degrees of polymerisation from 2 to 5, have been efficiently synthesised. Linear oligomers were obtained by means of a convergent approach based on regioselective opening of bis(epoxides) with solketal; branched compounds were synthesised using oxidative cleavage of the corresponding anhydrohexitols as the key step. A 6-exo-trig halocyclisation reaction involving heteroatom-tethered unsaturated alcohols permitted an efficient synthesis of the precursors of selected cyclic dimers; larger cyclic oligomers were prepared by two one-pot Williamson reactions using a ditriflate derived from diglycerol. All these methodologies permitted further scaling up.