Automated Glycan Assembly of Lewis type I and II Oligosaccharide Antigens

To investigate the biological roles of Lewis type glycans a host of synthetic approaches has been developed. A set of Lewis type- I and type-II-chain antigens was synthesized via automated glycan assembly (AGA) in a fast, reliable and reproducible fashion.

Five building blocks were sufficient to synthesize all Lewis type-II antigens including H-antigen II, Lex, Ley and KH-1 and the Lewis type-I-chain-related structures Lc4 and Leb. A set of six monosaccharide building blocks provides quick access to a series of more than ten defined Lewis type-I and type-II antigens, including Lex, Ley, Lea, Leb, and KH-1. Glycans with up to three α-fucose branches were assembled following a strictly linear approach and obtained in excellent stereoselectivity and purity.