Glycosidase inhibitors have proven to be valuable probes of enzymic mechanism 1 and show considerable promise as therapeutic drugs. 2 Design of inhibitors for these enzymes is best based upon a knowledge of their mechanisms. Retaining glycosidases 3 are generally believed 4-6 to follow a doubledisplacement mechanism in which a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate is formed and hydrolyzed Via oxocarbenium ion like transition states, as shown for an R-glucosidase in Scheme 1. A successful strategy for inactivation of retaining -glycosidases involves the use of activated 2-deoxy-2-fluoro glycosides that form a stabilized 2-deoxy-2-fluoroglycosyl-enzyme intermediate that turns over only slowly. Unfortunately, this approach has been notably unimpressive with all R-glycosidases tested. 7,8 Further, the requirement for a fluorine at C2 limits the utility of these inhibitors if the enzyme (e.g., an Nacetylhexosaminidase) is intolerant of substitution at this position. This paper describes a novel approach which obviates both these problems and allows inhibition of both R-and -glycosidases through accumulation of a covalent glycosylenzyme intermediate, without compromising specificity through substitution of any ring hydroxyl. It also provides substantial evidence against an alternative mechanism for retaining glycosidases involving endocyclic ring opening. [9][10][11] 5-Fluoro glycosides with good leaving groups, such as 1 and 2, might be expected to inactivate "retaining" glycosidases by formation of a stabilized 5-fluoroglycosyl-enzyme intermediate through a trapping mechanism analogous to that of the 2-deoxy-2-fluoro glycosides. A sterically conservative fluorine substitution at C5 of a glycosyl oxocarbenium ion exerts electronic effects similar to or greater than those of a C2 fluorine, both atoms being adjacent to centers of developing positive charge. 12 However, crucial transition state binding interactions between the enzyme and the usual C2 substituent [13][14][15] which are disrupted in the case of the 2-deoxy-2-fluoro sugars are still possible for the 5-fluoro glycosides. Synthesis of the 5-fluoroglycosyl fluorides hinged upon the known radical photobromination reaction at C5 of per-Oacetylated -and R-glucosyl fluorides. 16-18 Fluorination of these 5-bromoglucosyl fluorides and deacetylation afforded products 1 and 2, which were purified by chromatography and characterized. 19 Liu, K. K.-C.; Pederson, R. L.; Zhong, Z.; Ichikawa, Y.; Porco, J. A. J.; Wong, C.-H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 6187) have indicated that the greatest difference in partial charge between a ground state sugar and the corresponding glycosyl oxocarbenium ion is at O5 rather than C1. Bromination of per-O-acetylated -and R-glucosyl fluorides with N-bromosuccinimide (hν, N-bromosuccinimide, CCl4) yielded the protected 5-bromoglucosyl fluorides. Fluorination (Igarashi, K.; Honma, T.; Irisawa, J. Carbohydr. Res. 1969, 11, 577) of the anomer (AgBF4, toluene) afforded the protected 5-fluoro--D-glucosyl fluoride in low yield. 5-Fluoro-Rgluco...