Preparation of esters, ethers and acetals from unprotected sucrose

The direct transformation of unprotected sucrose in the context of the preparation of derivatives of industrial interest is a challenging task. We show how the intrinsic properties of sucrose, i. e. its electronic conformational and structural characteristics, provide to the chemist some sources of reactivity and selectivity. We report our results in the synthesis of sucrose esters, carbonaters and ethers in aqueous medium, as well as some work on the reaction of sucrose in organic solutions to make acetals involving either the [)H-4; OH-6] or the [OH-2; OH-3] diol systems.