Ionic catch and release oligosaccharide synthesis (ICROS)

A general and efficient chromatography-free ionic-liquid-supported catch-and-release strategy for oligosaccharide synthesis (ICROS) is reported. The methodology is compatible with current glycosylation strategies and amenable to protecting group manipulations. A series of beta-(1 -> 6) and beta-(1 -> 2)-linked glycan structures have been prepared to showcase the versatility of the strategy.