NOVEL DISACCHARIDES CONTAINING SULFUR IN THE RING AND NITROGEN IN THEINTERGLYCOSIDIC LINKAGE - CONFORMATION OF METHYL 5'-THIO-4-N-ALPHA-MALTOSIDE BOUND TO GLUCOAMYLASE AND ITS ACTIVITY AS A COMPETITIVE INHIBITOR

The syntheses of novel heteroanalogues of methyl maltoside and methyl kojibioside containing sulfur in the nonreducing ring and nitrogen in the interglycosidic linkage are described. The compounds are substrate analogues for glucosidases and are of interest as potential inhibitor s of these enzymes. The synthesis relied upon the acid-catalyzed conde nsation of 5-thio-D-glucose with either methyl 4-amino-4-deoxy-alpha-D -glucopyranoside or methyl 2-amino-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranoside in m ethanol solvent. Thus, the interconverting anomeric mixtures, methyl 5 '-thio-4-N-alpha-maltoside (5 alpha), methyl 5'-thio-4-N-alpha-cellobi oside (5 beta) and methyl 5'-thio-2-N-beta-kojibioside 6 alpha, methyl 5'-thio-2-N-beta-sophoroside 6 beta, were synthesized in 55% and 52% yield, respectively. Acetylation of the anomeric mixtures yielded anom ers which were separable and did not mutarotate. A comparison of NOE d ata for free 5 alpha and transferred NOE data for a mixture of 5 alpha and glucoamylase G1 suggests that 5 alpha is bound by the enzyme in a conformation in the area of the global energy minimum of free 5 alpha . These NMR data also suggest that 5 alpha may be an inhibitor of gluc oamylase. Kinetic studies indicate that a mixture of 5 alpha/5 beta is a competitive inhibitor of maltose binding by glucoamylase G2, with a K-i value for 5 alpha of 4 +/- 0.3 mu M.