Chemistry and Biotechnology of Oligosaccharides

The CBO team's research focuses on the development of chemical and enzymatic tools for the production of glycans (oligo-, polysaccharides) and glycoconjugates

Objectives

Understanding, at molecular resolution, the functions and metabolic pathways of carbohydrates in living organisms (biosynthesis, degradation, structure/activity relationships)

Promoting the structural and functional diversity of oligosaccharides in the fields of health and wellness, environment and innovative biomaterials

 

 

 

Voir aussi dans «The Teams»

Self-Assembly of Glycopolymers The objective of the research project is the development of synthesis strategies to precisely modify biosourced carbohydrates in order to bring new functionalities. For instance, some of the goals are to produce polysaccharide mimetics, electrospun glyco-nanofibers, self-assembled glyco-nanoparticles and thin films or carbohydrate coatings via surface biomimicry for a variety of applications: molecular recognition (sugars, proteins), biosensors, selective filtration, control released, drug delivery, new lithographic template (biodegradable saccharide mask), flexible electronics (conducting glycopolymers), etc. Structural and molecular glycobiology The structural and molecular glycobiology team aims to unravel the structure/function relationships of proteins with complex glycans such as glycoconjugates and polysaccharides. Its research is at the chemistry-biology interface with multidisciplinary expertise in bioinformatics, molecular biology, biochemistry and enzymology, X-ray protein crystallography, analysis of protein-carbohydrate interactions and molecular modeling methods. Its research activity is conducted along the following topics: -The biosynthesis of complex carbohydrates by glycosyltransferases (GTs). -The degradation of complex polysaccharides by Polysaccharide Utilisation Loci (PULs). -The recognition of glycoconjugates by lectins. -The structural analysis of oligo- and polysaccharides. Structure and modification of polysaccharides The research in the SMP group is focused on the structural characterization of oligo-and polysaccharides, their selective chemical modification and the build-up of new polysaccharide materials for different applications.