The total synthesis of the sialic acid-containing antigenic epitope fucose GM1 (Fuc-GM1) by an improved reactivity-based one-pot synthetic strategy is reported. Based on a thioglycoside reactivity database, three saccharide building blocks, 3, 4, and 5, were designed and prepared to incorporate a descending order of reactivity toward thiophilic activation. Using the reactivity-based one-pot synthetic method, the fully protected Fuc-GM1 glycoside 2 was furnished in a facile manner, which was globally deprotected to give the Fuc-GM1 glycoside 1. In addition, using the promoter system 1-(benzensulfinyl)piperidine͞trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride, the product yield was improved and the reaction time was reduced in comparison with the N-iodosuccinimide͞trifluoro-methanesulfonic acid-and dimethyl (thiomethyl) sulfonium trifluoromethanesulfonate-promoted systems.synthetic vaccine F ucose GM 1 (Fuc-GM 1 ) ganglioside was first isolated from bovine thyroid tissue in 1979 (1). It is comprised of a hexasaccharide carbohydrate moiety and a ceramide-reducing end component. Within this carbohydrate framework is a tetrasaccharide (sugars a, b, d, and e) bearing a branched sialic acid residue (c) and a terminal fucose (f) (Fig. 1). It is found specifically in the tumor tissue of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). SCLC accounts for 20% of lung cancer, which remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States (2). Unlike other cancer antigens, Fuc-GM 1 has a more restricted distribution in normal tissue, suggesting that this carbohydrate antigen may be a good target for active immunization. Development of an anti-(Fuc-GM 1 ) vaccine and mAb could potentially be of importance for diagnosis and immunotherapy of these tumors (3, 4). However, one of the barriers preventing effective production of an anticancer vaccine is the limited supply of chemically pure Fuc-GM 1 oligosaccharide. Despite the development of various oligosaccharide synthetic methods (5-8), the first synthesis of Fuc-GM 1 glycoside was reported by Allen and Danishefsky (9) two decades after its initial discovery. This elegant strategy incorporated the sulfonamide glycosidation method (10) in conjunction with a [3 ϩ 3] convergent glycosylation, ultimately leading to the target glycoside. It required protecting group and anomeric leaving group manipulations and encountered a problem with stereoselective formation of the (1,4) glycosidic bond between a bulky trisaccharide donor and the poor nucleophilic trisaccharide acceptor.We envisioned that the incorporation of our programmable reactivity-based one-pot strategy (8) in the synthesis of the Fuc-GM 1 could simplify this complicated synthetic operation. In brief, the reactivity-based one-pot strategy is based on a developed competitive HPLC assay to assess quantitatively the reactivity of different thioglycosides, the so-called relative reactivity value (RRV). Such information is then used to guide the reactivity-based one-pot synthesis of an oligosaccharide without protecting group manipulation and intermed...