Global S&T Development Trend Analysis Platform of Resources and Environment
Glycans have diverse physiological functions, ranging from energy storage and structural integrity to cell signalling and the regulation of intracellular processes(1). Although biomass-derived carbohydrates (such as d-glucose, d-xylose and d-galactose) are extracted on commercial scales, and serve as renewable chemical feedstocks and building blocks(2,3), there are hundreds of distinct monosaccharides that typically cannot be isolated from their natural sources and must instead be prepared through multistep chemical or enzymatic syntheses(4,5). These '
Various rare sugars that cannot be isolated from natural sources are synthesized using light-driven epimerization, a process which may find application in other synthetic scenarios.
