Fluorometric analysis of amino sugars and derivatized neutral sugars

A rapid and sensitive procedure for the analysis of neutral and amino sugars is presented. Neutral sugars are separated after conversion to the corresponding glycamines, while the amino sugars are analyzed without modification, using an automatic amino acid analyzer and fluorometric detection. The method has been applied for the analysis of glycoproteins and oligosaccharides of the complex and high-mannose types.     

An approach to the synthesis of branched-chain amino sugars from c-methylene sugars

The reaction of 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-3-C-methylene-α-D-ribo-hexofuranose (4) with mercuric azide in hot 50% aqueous tetrahydrofuran yielded, after reductive demercuration, 3-azido-3-deoxy-1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-3-C-methyl-α-D-glucofuranose (5). Partial, acid hydrolysis of5 afforded the diol7, which gave 3-azido-3-deoxy-1,2-O-isopropylidene-5,6-di-O-methanesulphonyl-3-C-methyl-α-D-glucofuranose (8) on sulphonylation. On hydrogenation over a platinum catalyst and N-acetylation, the dimethanesulphonate 8 furnished 3,6-acetylepimino-3,6-dideoxy-1,2-O-isopropylidene-5-O-methanesulphonyl-3-C-methyl-α-D-glucofuranose (9), which was also prepared by an analogous sequence of reactions on 3-azido-3-deoxy-1,2-O-isopropylidene-5-O-methanesulphonyl-3-C-methyl-6-O-toluene-p-sulphonyl-α-D-glucofuranose (13). The formation of the N-acetylepimine 9 establishes the D-gluco configuration for 5.1,2-O-Isopropylidene-3-C-methylene-α-D-ribo-hexofuranose (20) reacted with mercuric azide in aqueous tetrahydrofuran at ≈85° to give 3,6-anhydro-1,2-O-isopropylidene-3-C-methyl-α-D-glucofuranose (22) as a result of intramolecular participation by the C-6 hydroxyl group in the initial intermediate.     

Enzymatic synthesis of nucleotide sugars

The present review gives a survey on the biosynthetic pathways of nucleotide sugars which are important for the in vitro synthesis of mammalian glycoconjugates. With respect to the use of these enzymes in glycotechnology the availability as recombinant enzymes from different sources, the large-scale synthesis of nucleotide sugars and their in situ regeneration in combination with glycosyltransferases are summarized and evaluated.     

Campylobacter sugars sticking out

The amazing repertoire of glycoconjugates that are found in Campylobacter jejuni includes lipooligosaccharides mimicking human glycolipids, capsular polysaccharides with complex and unusual sugars, and proteins that are post-translationally modified with either O- or N-linked glycans. Thus, the glycome of this important food-borne pathogen is an excellent toolbox for glycobiologists to understand the fundamentals of these pathways and their role in host-microbe interactions, develop new techniques for glycobiology and exploit these pathways for novel diagnostics and therapeutics. The exciting surge in recent research activities will be summarized in this review.     

Soluble sugars of maize seedlings

The soluble sugars were determined in different parts of maize seedlings (seeds, roots and shoots), 0, 2, 4 and 6 days after sowing.