GLYCONEER-An automated oligosaccharide synthesiser to transform glycobiology research within the University of York, and the UK glycoscience community

GLYCONEER - 一款自动化寡糖合成仪，旨在改变约克大学和英国糖科学界的糖生物学研究

• 批准号: BB/M012697/1
• 负责人: Gideon Davies
• 金额: $ 40.68万
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2015 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FM012697%2F1
• 关键词: GLYCONEER; automated; oligosaccharide; synthesiser; transform

Macromolecules - literally big molecules - the proteins, DNA, RNA and carbohydrates - carry out the key roles in living organisms. Together they are responsible for all of the functions that sustain life, from metabolism through replication to the exchange of information between a cell and its environment. Carbohydrates, or sugars as they are sometimes known are the unsung heroes in all of this and the way they work, facilitating cell-cell communication and allow signalling throughout the body is not only of considerable scientific interest but is central in attaining a basic understanding of how an organism works or indeed fails to work, in the biotechnology industry through the use of sugars as additives in food processing and in development of new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry, all areas where the UK is a world leader. Carbohydrates also constitute the largest source of biomass on Earth and their exploitation for novel applications in biomaterials, energy, food and health will be critical in moving away from dependence on hydrocarbons to develop sustainable biotechnologies and reduce GHG emissions, ensuring both energy and food security. Glycoscience is a broad term used for all research and technology involving carbohydrates, ranging from cell biology, human nutrition and medicine to carbohydrate-based materials and the conversion of carbohydrates to energy. The analysis, synthesis and biosynthesis of carbohydrates and their modification to industrial products are, therefore, central challenges in both industrial biotechnology and bioenergy. The last twenty years have seen a number of fundamental changes in the Glycosciences generating a technology push with respect to carbohydrate synthesis and modification, enzymology and glycomic analysis. At the same time, there is a technology pull - great demand and opportunities in diverse areas such as biopharmaceuticals (8 out of 10 top selling drugs worldwide are glycoproteins), foods (prebiotics designed for the human gut microbiota), antimicrobials (targeting cell surface recognition and biosynthesis), materials (from biorenewable polysaccharides) or energy (digesting the indigestible). However, research in this broad area is still fundamentally limited by the synthesis of complex carbohydrates, which can exist in multiple forms, and be linked together as 'polymers' in many ways with an almost unimaginable lack of limitations. While research into DNA and protein function has been stimulated by widespread access to synthesisers, machines that can literally be programmed by a user to produce any sequence of DNA or protein with almost no technical skills necessary, carbohydrates have been left behind because of their complexity. New technology advances mean that a commercially available carbohydrate synthesiser now exists with the capability to stimulate the glycoscience field to the same extent that synthesisers of DNA and proteins have in their own research fields in the last twenty years. With this new development, soon carbohydrates will no longer be known as the forgotten 'Cinderella' molecules of life.

大分子——字面上的大分子——蛋白质、DNA、RNA和碳水化合物——在生物体中发挥着关键作用。它们共同负责维持生命的所有功能，从新陈代谢到复制，再到细胞与其环境之间的信息交换。它们有时称为碳水化合物,或者糖类是所有这一切的无名英雄和他们的工作方式,促进信息交流和允许信号在整个身体不仅是获得相当大的科学兴趣,但中央一个基本的了解生物体是如何工作或不能工作,在生物技术产业通过使用糖作为添加剂在食品加工和开发新药物在制药行业,在所有英国处于世界领先地位的领域。碳水化合物也是地球上生物量的最大来源，开发碳水化合物在生物材料、能源、粮食和健康方面的新应用，对于摆脱对碳氢化合物的依赖，发展可持续生物技术和减少温室气体排放，确保能源和粮食安全至关重要。糖科学是一个广泛的术语，用于所有涉及碳水化合物的研究和技术，从细胞生物学、人类营养和医学到碳水化合物基材料和碳水化合物转化为能量。因此，碳水化合物的分析、合成和生物合成及其对工业产品的改性是工业生物技术和生物能源的核心挑战。在过去的二十年里，糖科学发生了许多根本性的变化，在碳水化合物合成和修饰、酶学和糖糖分析方面产生了技术上的推动。与此同时，在生物制药（全球最畅销的10种药物中有8种是糖蛋白）、食品（为人类肠道微生物群设计的益生元）、抗菌剂（靶向细胞表面识别和生物合成）、材料（来自生物可再生多糖）或能源（消化难以消化的物质）等不同领域存在巨大的需求和机会。然而，在这一广阔领域的研究仍然从根本上受到复杂碳水化合物合成的限制，这些碳水化合物可以以多种形式存在，并以许多几乎难以想象的方式作为“聚合物”连接在一起。尽管对DNA和蛋白质功能的研究受到了广泛使用合成器的刺激，但碳水化合物却因其复杂性而被抛在了后面。合成器是一种几乎不需要任何技术技能就可以由用户编程产生任何DNA或蛋白质序列的机器。新技术的进步意味着现在存在一种商业上可用的碳水化合物合成器，其对糖科学领域的刺激程度与DNA和蛋白质的合成器在过去二十年中在各自的研究领域所达到的程度相同。随着这一新的发展，碳水化合物将不再被称为被遗忘的“灰姑娘”生命分子。