Enzymatic reverse glycosylation

Biological significance of oligosaccharides is growing rapidly and necessit ates development of efficient methods of their synthesis. Enzymatic glycosy lations, in comparison son with the chemical methods, are especially useful in the glycosylation of complex biologically active substances, where dras tic conditions or the use of toxic (heavy) metal catalysts are generally un desirable. A key advantage of enzymatic methods is their stereo- and regios electivity. Two types of enzymes can be used to obtain oligosaccharides: hy drolytic enzymes, which catalyze thermodynamically controlled hydrolysis or kinetically controlled transglycosylation and transferases. In this paper, preparation of oligosaccharides using reverse glycosylation is summarized.