Chemical methods for degradation of target oligosaccharides using designed light-activatable organic molecules

Carbohydrates play crucial roles in a wide range of biological processes, including serious diseases. The development of novel and innovative methods for selective control of specific oligosaccharide functions has attracted much attention in the fields of chemistry, biology, and medicine. In this feature article, the development of novel chemical tools, which can degrade target oligosaccharides by irradiation with a specific wavelength of light under mild conditions without any additives, is introduced. This novel class of photochemical agents promise bright prospects for finding not only molecular-targeted bioprobes for understanding of the structure-activity relationships of oligosaccharides but also novel therapeutic drugs targeting oligosaccharides.