Synthesis and Biological Activity of Oligosaccharide Libraries

Abstract
Two of the most difficult problems in Glycobiology are how to discover new biologically-active oligosaccharide ligands and how to enhance the binding affinity of such ligands once they are identified. These are important problems since many examples of physiologically important recognition phenomena are being discovered (Varki, 1993) where the ability to intervene with synthetic carbohydrate-based inhibitors may lead to new modes of therapy for disease. Key targets for drug development include inhibitors of glycosyltrans-ferases which could alter cell surface glycosylation (Hindsgaul et al., 1991) and inhibitors of selectin binding to sialylated and sulfated oligosaccharides which would prevent the inflammatory response (Lasky, 1992).

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