2,4-Furfurylidene-D-sorbitol and its tetra-methyl ether: Synthesis, conformational studies, and radical scavenging activity

The structure of 1-[2-(furan-2-yl)-5-hydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-dioxan-4-yl]ethane-1,2-diol] (2,4-furfurylidene-D-sorbitol) and its tetra-methyl ether was established by a detailed NMR analysis. The conformational structure for both compounds was confirmed by in silico studies based both on Density Functional Theory (DFT) and on classical molecular dynamics approaches. The scavenging activity against hydroxyl radicals (•OH) of compounds was established by the 2 deoxyribose degradation assay.