The biological recognition of complex‐type N‐glycans is part of many key physiological and pathological events. Despite their importance, the structural characterization of these events remains unsolved. The inherent flexibility of N‐glycans hampers crystallization and the chemical equivalence of individual branches precludes their NMR characterization. By using a chemoenzymatically synthesized tetra‐antennary N‐glycan conjugated to a lanthanide binding tag, the NMR signals under paramagnetic conditions discriminated all four N‐acetyl lactosamine antennae with unprecedented resolution. The NMR data revealed the conformation of the N‐glycan and permitted for the first time the direct identification of individual branches involved in the recognition by two N‐acetyllactosamine‐binding lectins, Datura stramonium seed lectin (DSL) and Ricinus Communis agglutinin (RCA120).

The occurrence of N-glycans with a bisecting GlcNAc modification on glycoproteins has many implications in developmental and immune biology. However, these particular N-glycans are difficult to obtain either from nature or through synthesis. We have developed a flexible and general method for synthesizing bisected N-glycans of the complex type by employing modular TFAc-protected donors for all antennae. The TFAc-protected N-glycans are suitable for the late introduction of a bisecting GlcNAc. This integrated strategy permits for the first time the use of a single approach for multiantennary N-glycans as well as their bisected derivatives via imidates, with unprecedented yields even in a one-pot double glycosylation. With this new method, rare N-glycans of the bisected type can be obtained readily, thereby providing defined tools to decipher the biological roles of bisecting GlcNAc modifications.

When using benzyl ethers as permanent protecting groups in oligosaccharide synthesis selective oxidative debenzylation with NaBrO(3) + Na(2)S(2)O(4) under biphasic conditions is efficient and compatible with anomeric azides and many other functions.

Glycans play a key role as recognition elements in the communication of cells and other organisms. Thus, the analysis of carbohydrate–protein interactions has gained significant importance. In particular, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are considered powerful tools to detect relevant features in the interaction between sugars and their natural receptors. Here, we present the results obtained in the study on the molecular recognition of different mannose-containing glycans by Pisum sativum agglutinin. NMR experiments supported by Corcema-ST analysis, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments, and molecular dynamics (MD) protocols have been successfully applied to unmask important binding features and especially to determine how a remote branching substituent significantly alters the binding mode of the sugar entity. These results highlight the key influence of common structural modifications in natural glycans on molecular recognition processes and underscore their importance for the development of biomedical applications.

The main glycoforms of the hydrophobic lysosomal glycoprotein saposin D (SapD) were synthesized by native chemical ligation. An approach for the challenging solid-phase synthesis of the fragments was developed. Three SapD glycoforms were obtained following a general and robust refolding and purification protocol. A crystal structure of one glycoform confirmed its native structure and disulfide pattern. Functional assays revealed that the lipid-binding properties of three SapD glycoforms are highly affected by the single sugar moiety of SapD showing a dependency of the size and the type of N-glycan.