CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The reaction of reductive amination, widely used for carbohydrates, was reviewed in our lab, especially in the context of the analytical determination of carbohydrate enantiomers. The best conditions for the technique have been evaluated, showing that under optimal working conditions it is possible to use alpha-picoline borane as a reducing agent instead of sodium cyanoborohydride without affecting the selectivity or the yield. The main reason for the variation of the technique was that, in the presence of acetic acid, secondary epimeric products were produced with alpha-picoline borane due to an Amadori rearrangement. This new modification assures lower toxicity, and thus a more environmental-friendly reaction system. Preparative scale synthesis can also be efficiently made with this reducing reagent.