Custom Milk Oligosaccharide Synthesis Service

Various functions of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), such as prebiotics, antiadhesive, antimicrobials, and immunomodulators, have been recognized. With Ph.D. level scientists and rich experience in the synthesis of milk oligosaccharides, Creative Biolabs is dedicated to offering our clients high-quality milk oligosaccharides, ranging from relatively simple glycans to highly complex and multiantennary ones. We also provide custom milk oligosaccharide synthesis services that are tailored to meet your R&D timeline and budget.

Introduction of HMOs

HMOs are a family of diverse unconjugated glycans that exist in human milk. The structural complexity of HMOs ranges from relatively simple glycans to highly complex and multibranched structures. In all HMOs, there is a reducing lactose moiety, which can be extended by various numbers of or N-acetyllactosamine or lacto-N-biose motifs. The action of N-acetyllactosaminide β1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GCNT2), which installs a β1,6-linked N-acetyl-glucosamine at an internal galactosyl moiety, forms branched HMOs. This internal galactosyl moiety can be further extended by type 1 or type 2 structures. Repeated action of GCNT2 creates highly complex, multiantennary structures. Different modifications, such as various combinations of α1,2-, α1,3-, and α1,4-fucosylation and α2,3- and α2,6-sialylation, can be added to the termini of the resulting oligosaccharide chains.

The Important Roles of HMOs

As the third major component of human milk, HMOs play important roles in the health of breast-fed infants. More and more HMOs have been identified, and the structures of more than 100 different HMOs have been elucidated. HMOs can serve as soluble decoys for bacterial, viral, or protozoan parasite adhesins, thereby preventing attachment to the infant mucosal surface. The fucosylated fraction of human milk can inhibit Campylobacter jejuni colonization of mice in vivo and human intestinal mucosa ex vivo. HMOs can also modulate epithelial and immune cell responses and reduce excessive mucosal leukocyte infiltration and activation. Due to the limited accessibility to large amounts of individual HMOs in their pure forms, the mechanism of individual HMOs species is less clear. Current advances in the development of the production system, including enzymatic, chemoenzymatic, whole-cell, and living-cell systems, allow for a growing number of HMOs in increasing amounts. This effort will greatly help the elucidation of the important roles of HMOs both as individual compounds and as mixtures of defined compounds. Future efforts should be devoted to synthesizing complex HMOs, and elucidating the structures of complex HMOs, and developing HMO-based or HMO-inspired prebiotics, additives, and therapeutics.

Custom Milk Oligosaccharides Synthesis at Creative Biolabs

Equipped with world-leading technology platforms and professional scientific staff in milk oligosaccharides synthesis, Creative Biolabs has developed a new strategy for milk oligosaccharides synthesis based on chemical and enzymatic methods. New synthetic protocols for different glycosidic linkages have been refined. Our strategy for milk oligosaccharides synthesis help to improve understanding their roles and boost practical applications.

Highlights

• Milk oligosaccharides synthesis, ranging from relatively simple glycans to highly complex and multiantennary ones.
• High purity
• High flexibility and cost-effectiveness
• Top-rated customer experience

At Creative Biolabs, our professional technical scientists, comprehensive powerful platform, and abundant experience make us a perfect partner to offer our clients high-quality milk oligosaccharides synthesis. We offer turn-key or ala carte services customized to our client’s needs. Please contact us for more information and a detailed quote.

Published data

HMOs are a group of lactose-based carbohydrate structures that are essential in breast milk and are critical for the health and development of newborns. More than 150 different HMO structures have been identified in breast milk, all of which are variants of specific HMO blueprint patterns and have different biological effects. This HMO blueprint pattern, consisting of five monosaccharides and ten types of linkages, exists in the form of pyranose and contains the same anomeric configuration. Among them, 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL) is one of the most common HMOs and an ideal starting point for the synthesis of HMOs. The methods for synthesizing HMOs include chemical, fermentation, and enzymatic methods, each of which has its unique advantages. The chemical synthesis method is to gradually connect different reaction steps in series according to the target HMO structure, assemble monosaccharide units, and finally synthesize the desired product. The fermentation method is to introduce appropriate substrates into the fermentation system and allow genetically modified microorganisms (such as Escherichia coli) to synthesize the target HMO through the action of endogenous enzymes. Moreover, the enzymatic method can synthesize HMOs in vivo or in vitro under mild and environmentally friendly conditions with high substrate specificity and selectivity, with high yield and purity. These different synthetic approaches provide diverse pathways for the preparation of HMOs, helping to meet the broad demand for these bioactive molecules.

Fig.1 Blueprint structure of HMO.¹

FAQs

Q1: What methods do you utilize for synthesizing the HMOs?

A1: The synthetic strategy we use combines advanced chemical and enzymatic approaches. Chemical methods are mainly used to build specific glycosidic bonds, while enzymatic methods are used to assemble complex structures. By optimizing different glycosidases and their reaction conditions, we efficiently synthesize complex milk oligosaccharide structures, thereby ensuring high purity and functionality of the product.

Q2: What specific types of milk oligosaccharides can you synthesize?

A2: We can synthesize simple glycans to highly complex and multi-branched milk oligosaccharides, including but not limited to 2'-fucosyl lactose (2'-FL), 3-fucosyl lactose (3-FL), etc. If you have custom requirements, our team also designs and synthesizes milk oligosaccharides with specific structures.

Q3: How do you ensure the structural accuracy of synthetic milk oligosaccharides?

A3: We confirm the structure of each synthetic milk oligosaccharide through a multi-step purification process and use a variety of high-precision analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). Each synthesis step is strictly monitored and verified to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the final product structure.

Customer Review

Reference

1. Zeuner, Birgitte, et al. "Synthesis of human milk oligosaccharides: Protein engineering strategies for improved enzymatic transglycosylation." Molecules 24.11 (2019): 2033. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.

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