# Photochemical Technologies for Improved Glycosylation Reactions

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA · 2024 · $179,694

## Abstract

Carbohydrates, glycans, and their conjugates play critical roles in a very broad
spectrum of biological processes, many of which are central to human health,
development and disease states. The diversity of glycan-dependent biological
processes is reflected by the even-more diverse spectrum and complexity of the
implicated glycans and glycoconjugates, collectively known as the glycome. The study
of glycan dependent biological processes and their eventual regulation and/or
exploitation in human medicine is enormously hampered by difficulties in isolating and
structurally characterizing meaningful quantities of pure unique glycans, known as
homogeneous glycoforms, from biological sources. It is imperative therefore that simple
practical technologies for glycan synthesis be developed that combine robustness with
ease of operation such that specialist and non-specialists alike will be able to access
glycans with relative ease. This proposal aims to develop exactly the kind of scalable
robust methodology that is required to address the chemical synthesis of a broad cross
section of the glycome. The focus is on the development of direct photochemical
methods without the need for external additives thereby reducing the system to its
essentials – a glycosyl donor and glycosyl acceptor – and eliminating complexity to the
greatest extent possible. The technologies to be developed are designed to employ
light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources and ultimately to be applicable under flow
conditions so as to enable practical scaled-up syntheses of biologically important
glycans.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10814904
- **Project number:** 5R21GM149588-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- **Principal Investigator:** David Crich
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $179,694
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10814904

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10814904, Photochemical Technologies for Improved Glycosylation Reactions (5R21GM149588-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10814904. Licensed CC0.

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