Glycosaminoglycans

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a family of oligosaccharides (usually sulfated) predominatly found as long unbranched polysaccharides containing repeating disaccharide units consisting either of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) or N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and a uronic acid such as glucuronate or iduronate. These highly negatively charged oligosaccharides have been implicated in numerous biological processes including brain development, anticoagulation, cancer, inflammation and spinal cord injury. Heparin, a pharmaceutical injectable, is widely used as an anticoagulant and is is derived from mucosal tissues of porcine and bovine.

Sussex Research is the international leader in GAG synthetic chemistry with extensive experience in the synthesis of sulfated small molecule oligosaccharides ranging from di- to octasaccharides.