Sucrose: A prospering and sustainable organic raw material.

Sucrose (alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-fructofuranoside) is an inexpensive chemical produced by sugar cane and sugar beet cultivation. Chemical and/or biochemical transformations convert it into highly valuable synthetic intermediates such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), bioethylene, 1,2-propylene glycol and levulinic acid. Sucrose can also be converted into biodegradable polymers such as polyesters and polyurethanes, as well as into novel carbohydrates such as isomaltulose, trehalulose, inulin, levan, Neo-amylose, and dextran, highly valuable additives for food and cosmetics and materials for separation and purification technologies.

Synthesis of linear beta-(1 --> 4)-galacto-hexa- and heptasaccharides and studies directed towards cyclogalactans.

Synthesis of an exclusively beta-(1 --> 4)-linked galactohexa- and heptasaccharide is described by coupling a 2-O-pivaloyl-3,6-O-allyl-protected thiogalactobioside donor with an equally protected, yet terminally 4-OH-free galactopentaoside. The same approach though failed to elaborate cyclic oligomers, as neither cyclodimerization of the correspondingly protected thiogalactotriosides with a 4"-OH could be effected, nor intramolecular glycosidation of the respective hexa- and heptagalactosides with an unprotected 4-OH at one, and phenylthio or sulfoxido groups at the reducing end. The causative factors underlying this are attributed to an inadequate predisposition of the linear beta-(1 --> 4)-galactan chains to adopt the tightly coiled molecular geometry necessary for cyclization--at least at the hexa- and heptasaccharide stage.

Beta-glucoside kinase (BglK) from Klebsiella pneumoniae. Purification, properties, and preparative synthesis of 6-phospho-beta-D-glucosides.

ATP-dependent beta-glucoside kinase (BglK) has been purified from cellobiose-grown cells of Klebsiella pneumoniae. In solution, the enzyme (EC ) exists as a homotetramer composed of non-covalently linked subunits of M(r) approximately 33,000. Determination of the first 28 residues from the N terminus of the protein allowed the identification and cloning of bglK from genomic DNA of K.