Abstract
The ocean supplies abundant active compounds, including small organic molecules,
proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, with diverse biological functions. The high-value
transformation of marine carbohydrates primarily refers to their pharmaceutical, food, and
cosmetic applications. However, it is still a big challenge to obtain these marine carbohydrates
in well-defined structures. Synthesis is a powerful approach to access marine oligosaccharides,
polysaccharide derivatives, and glycomimetics. In this review, we focus on the
chemical synthesis of marine acidic carbohydrates with uronic acid building blocks such as
alginate, and glycosaminoglycans. Regioselective sulfation using a chemical approach is also
highlighted in the synthesis of marine oligosaccharides, as well as the multivalent glycodendrimers
and glycopolymers for achieving specific functions. This review summarizes recent
advances in the synthesis of marine acidic carbohydrates, as well as their preliminary structure activity relationship
(SAR) studies, which establishes a foundation for the development of novel marine carbohydrate-based drugs and
functional reagents.
Keywords:
Marine carbohydrates, alginate, fucoidan, marine GAGs, glycomimetics, chemical synthesis, oligosaccharides.
Graphical Abstract
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