Mechanism-Based Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry

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The research outlined in this proposal involves two main areas of carbohydrate (sugar) chemistry. We plan to investigate the fundamental aspects of the biological reactions of carbohydrates and how they deviate from the corresponding reactions in water. Organisms are complex entities whose very existence depends on the ability to metabolize (breakdown) various dietary nutrients. Two distinct phases of metabolism exist: (1) energy-yielding catabolic processes that involve the degradation of complex food sources such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to produce simpler molecules; and (2) anabolism, that phase that is concerned with natural processes in which simple components, such as glucose are used to form more complex molecules that are required for the growth and survival of an organism. These two types of metabolic pathways employ enzymes that are either specific for degradation-type reactions, or that function in reactions which lead to the assembly of complex molecules.