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Updated: May 30, 2026

Hierarchical and Programmable One-Pot Oligosaccharide Synthesis
Published on: September 6, 2019
Using simple donors to drive the equilibria of glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions
Richard W Gantt1, Pauline Peltier-Pain, William J Cournoyer
1Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, Wisconsin Center for Natural Products Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Abstract:
We report that simple glycoside donors can drastically shift the equilibria of glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions, transforming NDP-sugar formation from an endothermic to an exothermic process. To demonstrate the utility of this thermodynamic adaptability, we highlight the glycosyltransferase-catalyzed synthesis of 22 sugar nucleotides from simple aromatic sugar donors, as well as the corresponding in situ formation of sugar nucleotides as a driving force in the context of glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions for small-molecule glycodiversification. These simple aromatic donors also enabled a general colorimetric assay for glycosyltransfer, applicable to drug discovery, protein engineering and other fundamental sugar nucleotide-dependent investigations. This study directly challenges the general notion that NDP-sugars are 'high-energy' sugar donors when taken out of their traditional biological context.
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