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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Chem. 2016 Mar 7;8(4):338–346. doi: 10.1038/nchem.2463

Figure 1. A general strategy for the modular synthesis of gp120-related N-glycans.

Figure 1

Due to the large number of possibilities in glycosidic linkages generating a huge diversity of structures (around 20,000), especially from the GlcNAc residues to the non-reducing end, a modular approach is necessary to minimize the reaction steps and create enough diversity to reflect the nature of N-glycosylation. a, Synthesis of high-mannose-, hybrid- and complex-type N-glycans through regio- and stereoselective glycosidation of orthogonally protected core trisaccharide at the O3 and O6 positions with a modular set of diverse glycosyl donors. b, Representative N-glycans that can be generated by this strategy. c, Retrosynthetic disconnections of high-mannose-, hybrid- and complex-type glycans, showing the building blocks required for assembly.