4-Mercapto-2-heptanol, previously described in cooked bell pepper, was used to determine the impact of the stereochemistry on the sensory properties of a thiol with a 1,3-oxygen-sulfur functionality. In addition, the acetyl-derivatives 4-acetylthio-2-heptanol, 4-mercapto-2-heptyl acetate and 4-acetylthio-2-heptyl acetate were investigated. The synthesized stereoisomers were separated via capillary gas chromatography (GC) using chiral stationary phases. The GC orders of elution were determined by assigning the absolute configurations via NMR analysis in combination with lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolutions. Odor thresholds and odor properties were determined by means of GC/Olfactometry. The data revealed that the sensory properties of the investigated compounds are not only significantly influenced by the acetylation but also by the configurations of the two asymmetric centers.

A homologous series of 4-mercapto-2-alkanols (C5-C10) was used to investigate the impact of the stereochemistry on the sensory properties of a class of naturally occurring polyfunctional thiols having a 1,3-oxygen-sulfur functionality. Stereoisomers were obtained via syntheses of racemic mixtures and subsequent lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolutions. Analytical separations of the stereoisomers were achieved by capillary gas chromatography (GC) using chiral stationary phases. The absolute configurations were assigned via NMR analysis. Sensory evaluations by means of GC/olfactometry revealed odor threshold minima for the medium-chain homologues (C7-C9) of the 4-mercapto-2-alkanol stereoisomers. Except for the C5 homologue, the lowest odor thresholds were determined for the (2R,4R)-configured stereoisomers. The variability in odor qualities was mainly determined by the chain length. None of the 4-mercapto-2-alkanol stereoisomers showed consistent odor qualities for all homologues.

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An efficient synthesis of (S)- or (R)-3-(benzyloxy-methyl)-cyclopent-3-enol was developed by appling an enzyme-catalyzed kinetic-resolution approach. This procedure allowed the syntheses of the enantiomeric building blocks (S)- and (R)-cyclopentenol with high optical purity (>98 % ee). In contrast to previous approaches, the key advantage of this procedure is that the resolution is done on the level of enantiomers that only contain one stereogenic center. Owing to this feature, it was possible to chemically convert the enantiomers into each other. By using this route, the starting materials for the syntheses of carbocyclic D- and L-nucleoside analogues were readily accessible. 3',4'-Unsaturated D- or L-carbocyclic nucleosides were obtained from the condensation of various nucleobases with (S)- or (R)-cyclopentenol. Functionalization of the double bond in 3'-deoxy-3',4'-didehydro-carba-D-thymidine led to a variety of new nucleoside analogues. By using the cycloSal approach, their corresponding phosphorylated metabolites were readily accessable. Moreover, a new synthetic route to carbocyclic 2'-deoxy-nucleosides was developed, thereby leading to D- and L-carba-dT. D-Carba-dT was tested for antiviral activity against multidrug-resistance HIV-1 strain E2-2 and compared to the known antiviral agent d4T, as well as L-carba-dT. Whilst L-carba-dT was found to be inactive, its D-analogue showed remarkably high activity against the resistant virus and significantly better than that of d4T. However, against the wild-type virus strain NL4/3, d4T was found to be more-active than D-carba-dT.