ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF GLYCANS

This proposal outlines a plan to synthesize standard samples of a range of glycans as reference compounds in glycomics research. Cassia, LLC shall work in collaboration with the Paulson laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute to make these compoundscommercially available to the research community. The Specific Aims include enzymatic synthesis of 20-32 glycans as either terminal fragments, or N- or O-linked glycans. In addition, these compounds shall be synthesized as heavy versions including 13Cisotope labels to facilitate their use as internal standards for identification and quantitation of glycans using mass spectrometry. The glycans shall be characterized using NMR and mass spectrometry, and the compounds shall be supplied as standards forthe National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) microarray facility. The specific aims in Phase I of this Fast Track SBIR proposal are designed to supply the first wave of glycan products, and to begin to transfer the technology of enzymaticglycan synthesis from the Paulson laboratory to Cassia. These aims set the foundation for synthesis of expanded glycan libraries in Phase II, and successful commercialization of a broad range of glycan reference compounds in Phase III Commercialization.PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE