CHOROSELECTIVE ENZYMATIC POLYMERIZATION FOR SYNTHESIS OF NATURAL POLYSACCHARIDES

By employing an enzymatic polymerization of activated glycosyl monomer s like glycosyl fluorides and a sugar oxazoline derivative, natural po lysaccharides like cellulose, xylan, and chitin, have successfully bee n synthesized. Regio and stereochemistry of these reactions was perfec tly controlled by the action of enzyme catalysts. Further study on the synthetic cellulose formation brought about a new concept ''chorosele ctivity'' concerning a spacial (three dimensional) direction control i n ordering of macromolecular chains during the polymerization.