SYNTHESIS OF BIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT OLIGOSACCHARIDES AND OTHER GLYCOCONJUGATES BY THE GLYCAL ASSEMBLY METHOD

A review is provided here of the work in our laboratory on the synthes is of oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. The use of glycals both as glycosyl donors and glycosyl acceptors led to the strategy of glycal assembly of oligosaccharides and other glycoconjugates. Several new gl ycosylation techniques were developed to provide access to a range of synthetic targets. Moreover, glycal assembly-both in solution and the solid phase-has been used to gain concise and efficient entry into a v ariety of biologically interesting and potentially valuable constructs . Some of these syntheses, particularly in the field of tumor antigens , have led to novel compositions which are in clinical assessment.