Combinatorial Carbohydrate Synthesis

Combinatorial chemistry has contributed to the preparation of biologically important oligosaccharide and glycoconjugate libraries, with a view of improving our understanding of the complex interaction between the carbohydrates and their proteinbased receptors. The combinatorial carbohydrate synthesis strategies, developed in the past decade, provide access to small and medium size libraries. This mini review critically examines both the solution phase and solid phase strategies that have been reported to date.