Synthesis of glycomonomers via biocatalytic methods.

The demand to develop sustainable polymers has increased in the last decades. Sustainable polymers contain some or all components that are derived from renewable resources. Carbohydrates, or saccharides, are one of the most abundant renewable biomass produced annually. Harnessing carbohydrates for building blocks of polymers can generate novel functional water-soluble materials. One of the examples is called glycopolymers, that are synthetic polymers having pendant saccharide moieties. In this report, we present the synthesis of glycomonomers, the precursors of glycopolymers, by enzymatic approaches. Some enzymes, like lipases, proteases, glycosidases, and glycosyltransferases, are exploited for this purpose. These enzymes catalyze the formation of ester or glycosidic bonds through transesterification reaction, reverse hydrolysis reaction, transglycosylation reaction, or glycosyl transfer from donors to acceptors.