‘Click chemistry’ on polysaccharides: a convenient, general, and monitorable approach to develop (1→3)-β-d-glucans with various functional appendages

(1→3)-β-d-Glucans having various functional appendages (lactoside, ferrocene, pyrene, and porphyrin) can be prepared in an convenient, quantitative, and regioselective manner through regioselective bromination–azidation of curdlan to afford 6-azido-6-deoxycurdlan followed by chemoselective [3+2]-cycloadditions with various functional modules bearing a terminal alkyne group. The ability to monitor reaction conversions is an additional advantage of this synthetic approach over the conventional direct modifications on polysaccharides; the reaction can be readily monitored based on the intensity of azido peaks in the in situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectra.

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