Synthesis of the dodecasaccharide fragment representing the O-polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O:1, serotype Ogawa, bearing an aglycon offering flexibility for chemical linking to proteins.

Two azidohexasaccharide building blocks, of which the glycosyl acceptor was the 5-(methoxycarbonyl)pentyl glycoside, were coupled using the trichloroacetimidate technology. The 12 azido functions present in the dodecasaccharide thus formed were then converted to amino groups using hydrogen sulfide as a reducing reagent. Subsequent N-acylation with 4-O-benzyl-L-glycero-tetronic acid, followed by catalytic debenzylation yielded the desired spacer-equipped, title dodecasaccharide.