In this article, chemo-enzymatic syntheses of important substances which serve as the building blocks for glycoconjugate synthesis are described : 1) Sialic acid aldolae-catalyzed synthesis of sialic acids and its analogs ; 2) Studies on Rhodococcus rhodochrous IFO 15564-catalyzed degradation of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and its derivatives ; 3) Hydration of carbohydrate nitriles mediated by a nitrile hydratase produced by R. rhodochrous IFO 15564 ; 4) Synthesis of N-acetyl-D-allosamine based on the lipase-catalyzed regioselective acetylation as the key step ; 5) Kinetic optical resolution of highly deoxygenated carbohydrate by means of lipase-catalyzed transesterification ; 6) Kinetic optical resolution of ceramide based on lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis.
