Glycostructures play a highly diverse and crucial role in a myriad of organisms and systems in biology, physiology, medicine, and bioengineering and technology. Only in recent years have the tools been developed to partly understand the highly complex functions and chemistry behind them. In this set the editors present up-to-date information on glycostructures, their chemistry and chemical biology, in the form of a comprehensive survey. The text is accompanied by over 2000 figures, chemical structures and reaction schemes and more than 9000 references. The accompanying CD-ROM enables, besides text searches, searches for structures, schemes, and other information.

1 General Principles

1.1 Structure and Conformation of Carbohydrates
1.2 Properties of Carbohydrates
1.3 Separation and Purification of Carbohydrates
1.4 General Occurrence of Carbohydrates
2 General Synthetic Methods: Reactions at Non Anomeric Positions
2.1 Reactions at Oxygen Atoms
2.2 Oxidation and Reduction
2.3 Deoxygenation
2.4 Heteroatom Exchange
2.5 Anhydrosugars
2.6 C-C Bond Formation
2.7 C=C Bond Formation
2.8 Degradation Reactions
2.9 Rearrangement Reactions
3 General Synthetic Methods: Reactions at the Anomeric Center
3.1 Reactions at Oxygen Atoms
3.2 Oxidation, Reduction and Deoxygenation
3.3 Heteroatom Exchange: Glycosylation
3.3.1 Mechanistic Aspects
3.3.2 Glycosides as Donors
3.3.3 Glycosyl Halides and Anomeric Esters as Donors
3.4 Anomeric Anhydro Sugars
3.5 S-Glycosylation
3.6 N-Glycosylation
3.7 C-Glycosylation
3.8 Formation and Reactions of Glycal Derivatives
3.9 Degradation and Rearrangement Reactions
4 Monosaccharides
4.1 Occurrence and Significance
4.2 Properties
4.3 Synthesis of Biologically Relevant Monosaccharides
4.4 De novo Synthesis of Monosaccharides
4.5 Formation of Complex Natural Compunds from Monosaccharides
4.6 Biosynthesis and Degradation
4.7 Chemical Biology and Biomedicine
5 Oligosaccharides
5.1 Occurrence and Significance
5.2 Properties
5.3 Synthesis
5.3.1 Enzymatic Glycosylation
5.3.2 Glycosyl Halides in Oligosaccharide Synthesis
5.3.3 Regio- and Stereoselective Methods of Glycosylation.-5.3.4 Stereoselective Synthesis of ß-manno Glycoside
5.3.5 Combinatorial and Solid Phase Methods in Oligosaccharide Synthesis
5.4 Biosynthesis and Degradation of Galactosyloligosaccharides
5.5 Chemical Biology and Biomedicine
5.5.1 Glycosylphosphatidylinositols
5.5.2 Mammalian Carbohydrate-Lectin Interactions
5.5.3 Multivalency in Protein-Carbohydrate Recognition
6 Complex Poysaccharides
6.1 Occurrence and Significance
6.2 Properties
6.3Synthesis of Sulfated Glycosaminoglycans
6.4 Biosynthesis and Degradation
6.5 Chemical Biology and Biomedicine
6.5.1 General Aspects
6.5.2 Mycobacterial Cell Wall Components
7 Glycolipids
7.1 Occurence and Significance.-7.2 Properties
7.3 Synthesis
7.4 Biosynthesis and Degradation
7.5 Chemical Biology and Biomedicine: Glycolipids and Glycosphingolipids.-8 Glycoproteins
8.1 Occurrence and Significance.-8.2 Properties.-8.3 Synthesis and Applications of Biologically Relevant Glycopeptides.-8.4 Chemical Biology and Biomedicine: Enkephalin-Derived Glycopeptide Analgesics
9 Other Glycoconjugates
9.1 Occurrence, Significance and Properties of Antitumor and Antimicrobial Glycoconjugates
9.2 Synthesis of Enedyne Antibiotic Oligosaccharides
9.3 Chemical Biology and Biomedicine of Glycosylated Natural Compounds
10 Glycomimetics
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Azaglycomimetics: Synthesis and Chemical Biology
10.3 Carbasugars: Synthesis and Functions
10.4 Sulfur Containing Glycomimetics
10.5 C-Glycosyl Analogs of Oligosaccharides and Glycosyl Amino Acids
10.6 Non-sugar Glycomimetics