Oligosacàrids funcionals per síntesi enzimàtica: Nous enzims per a noves aplicacions

Due to the increasing interest in functions of carbohydrates in the organism, efficient synthesis of more complex oligosaccharides and polysaccharides becomes a need. The carbohydrate structures that are present are the result of the action of glycosyl transferases enzymes and glycosidases enzymes. The use of these enzymes in vitro is, in the case of the majority of glycosyl transferases, by now not profitable, and in the case of the glycosidases is slightly efficient, because their main function is hydrolysis and then, yields in synthesis are low. The redesign of these glycosidases using protein engineering techniques allows to modify their enzymatic activity to the synthesis, eliminating the hydrolysis activity. These news mutants, called glycosynthases, afford oligo and polysaccharides generally in quantitative yields.