Yale University scientists have developed a new approach to glycosylation that works in water. (Yale University)A spoonful of sugar was just the right medicine for researchers at Yale University who published a new, simple formula for creating chemical reactions earlier this week.
Glycosylation—the process of adding carbohydrates to natural or synthetic compounds to aid in chemical reactions—is used to make a variety of drugs and biochemical probes. Typically, though, it is a highly specific process, making large-scale production particularly challenging.
Generating a large variety of compounds is crucial when trying to develop the best biochemical products and therapeutics. Professors Scott Miller and Alanna Schepartz and their team recognized that the difficulty of synthesizing large quantities of these compounds has truly limited the extend to which individuals are able to create the variants necessary in such an endeavor.
In response, the team developed a new approach to glycosylation that simplifies the process. Schepartz explains that glycoprotein molecules are traditionally made using an enzyme catalyst. However, the new approach does not require an enzymatic reaction, which allows for a more generalized process, making it possible to generate larger numbers of different compounds.
Further, while organic synthesis of bioactive compounds often takes place in non-aqueous solvents, the new process can occur in room temperature water.
"There is enormous interest right now in strategies to perform selective chemistry on complex biomolecules in water and also in cells," Schepartz said. "This paper lays a strong foundation that we and others can build upon to develop novel and useful chemistry."
The first author of the study is Tyler Wadzinski, a graduate student in Miller's lab. Co-authors, all of Yale, are Angela Steinauer, Liana Hie, and Guillaume Pelletier.
"This is truly a collaborative study that blends expertise in chemical reaction development and biological chemistry," Miller said.
Their study describing the process in more detail appears in the April 30 online edition of Nature Chemistry.
(Source: Yale University)