VO(acac)(2)/H(2)O(2)/NaI: a mild and efficient combination for the cleavage of dithioacetal derivatives of sugars.

A wide variety of dithioacetal derivatives of sugars can be cleaved easily into the corresponding open-chain aldehydo sugars using an efficient combination of VO(acac)(2)/H(2)O(2)/NaI at 0-5°C. Some of the salient features of this protocol are mild reaction conditions, good yields, short reaction times, easy work-up procedures, and non-involvement of toxic chemicals.