An efficient synthesis of 1,6-anhydro- N -acetylmuramic acid from N -acetylglucosamine.

A novel synthesis of 1,6-anhydro-N-acetylmuramic acid is described, which proceeds in only five steps from the cheap starting material N-acetylglucosamine. This efficient synthesis should enable future studies into the importance of 1,6-anhydromuramic acid in bacterial cell wall recycling processes.