Recent Developments in Solid-Phase Glycan Synthesis

Solid-phase glycan synthesis (SPGS) is a valuable approach to access broad collections of complex, well-defined oligo- and polysaccharides in short amounts of time. The target structure is assembled following iterative cycles of glycosylation and deprotection, often aided by automated machines. To expand the scope of SPGS, new solid supports, linkers, glycosylation and deprotection reactions, and functionalization strategies are constantly being developed. Here we discuss the state of the art of SPGS, with particular focus on the chemistry happening on solid-phase. We highlight recent achievements as well as challenges to be addressed to expand the scope of SPGS even further.