Easy access to modified cyclodextrins by an intramolecular radical approach

A simple method to modify the primary face of cyclodextrins (CDs) is described. The 6I-O-yl radical of a-, b-, and g-CDs regioselectively abstracts the H5II, located in the adjacent d-glucose unit, by an intramolecular 1,8-hydrogenatom-transfer reaction through a geometrically restricted ninemembered transition state to give a stable 1,3,5-trioxocane ring. The reaction has been extended to the 1,4-diols of a- and b-CD to give the corresponding bis(trioxocane)s. The C2-symmetric bis(trioxocane) corresponding to the a-CD is a stable crystalline solid whose structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The calculated geometric parameters confirm that the primary face is severely distorted toward a narrower elliptical shape for this rim.