Carbohydrates have a diverse range of structures and biological roles. The synthesis of a range of carbohydrate tools for studying biological processes are presented in this work.
A range of ¹³C-labelled Lewis b hexasaccharides have been synthesised, for use in NMR binding studies with BabA, a surface protein from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. During this synthetic sequence, an efficient synthesis of fucose from galactose was developed, for the purpose of providing the required ¹³C-labelled fucosyl donor in sufficient yield from the 13C galactose starting material. Glycosylation reactions were performed with this and other building blocks to produce the required ¹³C-labelled hexasaccharides.
A highly neuroactive polybioside from the venom of the social wasp Polybia paulista has been reported. An analogue of the reported structure was synthesised with the aim of comparing its NMR spectra with that of the reported polybioside. Synthesis of the analogue was achieved through peptide coupling between a glucosyl amine and a derivative of urocanic acid, with NMR spectra from the target molecule showing similarities to the spectra of the reported polybioside.
Chitosan, the deacetylated form of the naturally occurring biopolymer chitin, has attracted interest from researchers due to its antimicrobial properties. The aim of the study was to investigate the possibility of incorporating chitosan into polyurethane foams, with the potential application for use in wound dressings. Chitosan was added to a prepolymer during a foaming reaction and the structure of the foam analysed with solid state NMR.