Macromolecular glycosidase mimics: Designing selective catalytic sites.
by Striegler, Susanne; Sharma, Babloo
The development of macromol. glycosidase mimics based on sol. microgels may provide access to kit-like tools for the transformation of carbohydrates that are hampered by the availability of currently known enzymes. Particularly a limited shelf life time, a narrow pH range of operation, an often-obsd. limited applicability of glycosidases in org. solvents, and long reaction times mandate the use of chem. reactions to provide or transform targeted glycoconjugates in pharmacol. or medical research. Recent progress toward the development of catalysts with similar properties derived from water-sol. microgels will be highlighted, and the selectivity of sugar-selective sites will be discussed.