An Improved Synthesis of 3′,4′-Dideoxykanamycin B

Abstract
A new synthetic route has been exploited for the large scale production of 3′,4′-dideoxykanamycin B starting with kanamycin B. The key stage in the synthesis involves the formation in excellent yield of the 3′,4′-anhydro-4′-epi derivative (5) followed by convertion to the 3′-ene derivative through the iodohydrin. Compound 5 was prepared by the treatment of 3′,2″-di-O-benzoyl-4″,6″-O-cyclohexylidene-4′-O-methylsulfonyl-penta-N-t-butoxycarbonyl-kanamycin B with sodium methoxide.