Preparation of esters, ethers and acetals from unprotected sucrose

The direct transformation of unprotected sucrose in the context of the prep aration of derivatives of industrial interest is a challenging task. We sho w how the intrinsic properties of sucrose, i.e. its electronic, conformatio nal and structural characteristics prov ide to the chemist some sources of reactivity and selectivity. We report our recent results in the synthesis o f sucrose esters, carbonates and ethers in aqueous medium: as well as some work on the reaction of sucrose in organic solutions to make acetals involv ing either the [OH-4;OH-6] or the [OH-2;OH-3] diol systems.