title: Enabling methodology for the end functionalization of glycosaminoglycan oligosaccharides.
abstract: The chemical functionalization of glycosaminoglycans is very challenging due to their structural heterogeneity and polyanionic character; but as an enabling technology it promises rich rewards in terms of the structural and biological data it will afford. This review surveys the known methods for the preparation of glycosaminoglycan oligosaccharides and conditions for the selective functionalization of both the reducing and non-reducing ends. The synthetic merits of each approach are discussed, together with the structural modification of the glycosaminoglycan oligosaccharide which they confer. Recent applications of this methodology are highlighted, including introduction of functional labels for gel mobility shift assays and NMR studies of glycosaminoglycan-protein complexes, and synthesis of immobilised glycosaminoglycan arrays.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, The University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Emiliano
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gemma
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Dusan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Uhrín
authors.forename: Alison N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Hulme
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D024202:Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay / Q000379:methods*; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D009844:Oligosaccharides