Synthetic Study of Bio-functional Glycans

The molecular structures responsible for the immune functions of complex glycans were unraveled by synthetic studies. We focused on developing efficient methods for synthesizing glycans and conducting diverse chemical syntheses of these compounds, to identify the molecular structures responsible for activating or modulating innate immunity. Many natural glycans contain multiple active structures, potentially leading to emergent higher-order functions through their synergistic interactions. Therefore, by employing a conjugation-based approach, we successfully created immune-regulating complex glycoconjugates.