Chemoenzymatic approaches to explore polysaccharide structure-property relationships

多糖是一种碳水化合物结构，含有多个单位的普通单糖前体，它们组装成线性链和支链，约占生物量的80%。它们提供了基本的结构角色，聚集成具有不同最终物理特性的定义良好的系统。目前，全球有必要开发和供应生物相容、廉价和可再生的材料，以应用于众多工业部门。多糖满足了这些材料的大部分要求，但这是基于首先需要充分了解其物理化学和生物材料特性基础上的更高结构结构。与核酸和蛋白质的情况不同，多糖结构不是模板编码的，也不受基因组的直接控制。因此，我们目前没有“代码”或“工具包”来理解和操作多糖材料。规避这种情况的一种策略是提供对特定寡糖的受控访问。然后可以对这些材料进行深入的结构和功能分析，以了解控制和驱动多糖中更高阶组装的规则。该项目将涉及使用化学和酶的方法设计和组装低聚糖片段。您将参与构思和合成确定的寡糖序列，这些序列将与工业合作伙伴联合利华一起使用，进行物理化学和功能筛选。

Polysaccharides are carbohydrate architectures containing multiple units of common monosaccharide precursors that are assembled into linear and branched chains where they constitute around 80% of biomass. They provide essential structural roles, aggregating into well-defined systems with different, ultimate physical properties. There is a current global necessity to develop and supply biocompatible, cheap and renewable materials for application across a multitude of industrial sectors. Polysaccharides satisfy much of these material requirements, but this is predicated by a need to first fully understand their higher structural architecture underpinning to their physicochemical, biomaterial properties.In contrast to the situation with nucleic acids and proteins, polysaccharide architectures are not template-encoded and they are not under direct genomic control. Hence, we currently have no 'code' or 'tool-kit' with which to understand and manipulate polysaccharide materials. A strategy to circumvent this is to provide a controlled access to defined oligosaccharides. These materials can then be subjected to in depth structural and functional analysis, to learn the rules that control and drive higher order assemblies in polysaccharides. This project will involve the design and assembly of oligosaccharide fragments using chemical and enzymatic methods. You will be involved in conceiving and synthesising defined oligosaccharide sequences which will be utilised in conjunction with the industrial partner, Unilever, to perform physicochemical and functionality screening.