Glycostructures play a highly diverse and crucial role in a myriad of organisms and important systems in biology, physiology, medicine, bioengineering and technology. Only in recent years have the tools been developed to partly understand the highly complex functions and the chemistry behind them, but many facts still remain undiscovered. "All roads lead to carbohydrates ... we cannot do without them." (K.C. Nicolaou). Presently the field is experiencing a "quantum jump". Therefore the editors have drawn together in this three volume set plus an accompanying CD-ROM, the complete and up-to-date information on glycostructures, their chemistry and chemical biology, and present them in the form of a comprehensive and strictly systematic survey. The texts are furnished by 2.670 figures, chemical structures and reaction schemes (including more than 12.000 individual chemical reactions), and more than 9.000 references.

Volume I

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
Volume II
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 Compounds 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 Glycosides
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
Volume III
6 Complex Polysaccharides
6.1 Occurrenceand Significance
6.2 Properties
6.3 Synthesis 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 Occurrence 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 Antitumor and Antimicrobial Glycoconjugates
9.2 Synthesis of Enediyne 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
IUPAC's 1996 Recommendations on Nomenclature of Carbohydrates.