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Chemo-enzymatic Production of Specialty Glycans

ReferenceBB/M028836/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor Professor Sabine Flitsch
Co-Investigators /
Co-Supervisors
Institution The University of Manchester
DepartmentChemistry
Funding typeResearch
Value (£) 424,990
StatusCompleted
TypeResearch Grant
Start date 01/11/2015
End date 18/04/2021
Duration66 months

Abstract

The vision of the project centres around the translation of traditional and novel methodologies to develop sustainable and versatile platforms for the industrial production of glycans on scale. We will demonstrate the technology by targeting a set of novel glycan materials that are anticipated to have significant transformational potential in human health and disease in diagnostics and glycoengineering applications. This project requires an integrated approach featuring: 1) synthetic chemistry (unnatural building blocks) 2) biocatalysis (enzymatic synthesis of larger glycans) 3) showcasing glycan potential in diagnostics (glycoarray based platforms). The significant anticipated progression of both biocatalysis and glycoarray technologies will reduce commercialisation barriers both in terms of commercial glycan production and 'first in the market' glycan array companies.

Summary

This project will investigate the enzymatic glycosylation of modified carbohydrate monosaccharides to achieve larger, biologically relevant glycan structures. This will be achieved by extensive screening of glycosyltransferase enzymes (enzymes that catalyse the addition of a new monosaccharide to a growing sugar 'acceptor'), that are able to use modified sugars as the 'acceptor', but also as 'donor'. The biological relevance of the synthesised new type of glycan structures will be validated by investigating their binding profile to a range of proteins that are known to be of relevance in the health sciences, with the immediate aim to develop new diagnostics applications. However, depending on the array results, further applications in other areas in the health sciences are envisaged.

Impact Summary

As described in the submission of the PI
Committee Research Committee A (Animal disease, health and welfare)
Research TopicsIndustrial Biotechnology
Research PriorityX – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst (IBCAT) [2014-2015]
Funding SchemeX – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme
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