York leads the way in carbohydrate research

Posted on Monday 13 October 2014

The York Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL) in the University’s Department of Chemistry will purchase the UK's first automated carbohydrate synthesiser thanks to a £320,000 grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Carbohydrates, or sugars, are complex bio-molecules that play key roles in a myriad of biological processes, and are involved in the cause of many major diseases.  Glycoscience is a broad term used for all research and technology involving carbohydrates, ranging from cell biology, human nutrition and medicine, to carbohydrate-based materials and the conversion of carbohydrates into energy.

Dr Martin Fascione, of YSBL, co-ordinated a consortium bid for the ‘Glyconeer’ project, headed by leading carbohydrate chemist Professor Gideon Davies (YSBL). The project involves the Departments of Chemistry and Biology at York and scientists at the universities of Leeds, Oxford, Liverpool, Manchester and Imperial College London.

Research in this important field is limited due to the synthesis of complex sugars, which can exist in multiple forms and be linked in an almost limitless number of ways.  While research into DNA and protein function has benefited from widespread access to synthesisers - machines which can be easily programmed to produce any sequence of DNA or amino acids - carbohydrates have lagged behind because of their complexity.  Now, technology advances have finally resulted in a commercially available carbohydrate synthesiser with the capability to transform the field of glycoscience in a similar way.

Dr Fascione said: “Sugars are the most abundant and biologically important molecules on earth, but are also considered the most difficult to work with. This is primarily because of their complexity and the challenges posed by their chemical synthesis. The ‘Glyconeer’ will provide York and the UK with a new weapon to tackle these challenges, and place us at the forefront of a new wave of glycoscience research.”

The potential research use of this new technology includes biopharmaceuticals, as 80 percent of the top-selling drugs worldwide are glycoproteins, and prebiotic foods that are designed to optimise human gut health. Other uses will include research into antimicrobials, targeting cell surface recognition and biosynthesis, and progress with materials and energy, from biorenewable polysaccharides to the transformation of biomass into biofuel.

The ‘Glyconeer’ will be located in the Department of Chemistry, in a laboratory Dr Fascione shares with Dr Alison Parkin, a co-investigator on the bid. In partnership with some of the UK’s leading glycoscientists, Dr Fascione will manage and co-ordinate the use and application of the machine nationally.  It is anticipated that easy access to complex sugars will reinforce the UK’s reputation as a world leader in glycoscience, and expand the University of York’s reputation as a centre of excellence in this field.