Ab initio calculations of fully O-sulfated
model monosaccharides, including common hexoses (glucose, galactose,
fucose, and mannose) and pentoses (arabinose and xylose), were performed
to study the energetic properties of the recently discovered pyranoside-into-furanoside
(PIF) rearrangement. It was shown that the per-O-sulfated derivatives
of furanoside isomers generally had lower energies than the corresponding
per-O-sulfated pyranosides, while nonsulfated furanosides were always
less favored than nonsulfated pyranosides. Mannose, which is known
to be unreactive in PIF rearrangement, was the only exception. The
results of the theoretical calculations were confirmed by experimental
studies of monosaccharide models and explained the driving force of
such unusual ring contraction process as PIF rearrangement. The conclusions
of performed investigation can be used for prediction of new substrates
applicability for PIF rearrangement.