l-Idoseptanosides: substrates of d-glucosidases?

Based on the reported glycosidase inhibitory activities of 1,6-dideoxy-1,6-imino-l-iditol, the corresponding aryl glycosides 4-nitrophenyl α- and β-l-idoseptanoside 7 and 8 were synthesised as possible glycosidase substrates. Despite their inherently larger size, these septanosides were indeed shown to be glycosidase substrates, albeit weak ones. In addition, these two substrate analogues 7 and 8 also demonstrated a remarkable degree of selectivity for β- and α-glucosidases, respectively.