A practical approach to Dideoxy-1,4- and 1,5-iminopentitols from protected sugar hemiacetals

The convenient and straightforward preparation of dideoxy-1,4- and 1,5-iminopentitol derivatives from protected sugar hemiacetals by way of N-tert-butanesulfinyl glycosylamines and open-chain aminoalditols is reported. The synthetic procedure is a method of choice for the making of these important scaffolds of biological interest. [Display omitted] •Short, general and convenient method.•Synthesis of dideoxy-1,4- and 1,5-iminopentitols from protected sugar hemiacetals.•Use of a sulfinyl glycosylamine as an aldose imine equivalent.•Moderate to good overall yields (24–55%) obtained through two reaction sequences of 2.5 and 3.5 h.