Synthesis of 1,3,4,6-Tetra-O-acetyl-l-gulose

A novel, practical and concise synthesis of 1,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-l-gulose is described, using d-glucuronolactone as the starting material and other inexpensive and readily available agents (22% overall yield in 9 steps). With this method, the synthesis of l-gulose and the tumor-targeting disaccharide of BLMs can be more efficient and convenient.