Pent-4-enyl beta-D-glucopyranoside and its peracetylated and perbenzylated
derivatives are shown to be excellent substrates for preparation of a wide
variety of spacer functionalities. The spacer derivatives so obtained are p
romising substrates for preparing agents such as neo-glycoconjugates, micel
les, and liquid crystalline phases, which are of interest for studying vari
ous biological and physiological phenomena of carbohydrates.