Threading receptors for cellulose and chitin

Polysaccharides are the dominant organic molecules in the biosphere, and thus key renewable resources. However the most abundant, including cellulose and chitin, are generally the most difficult to utilise due to extreme insolubility. At present there is no method for mobilising these materials in water under mild conditions, so that modifications involve chemical transformations in aggressive media or the slow action of enzymes on undissolved solids. Dissolution in aqueous media at biological pH would allow new paths to exploitation, especially the rapid transformation or degradation by engineered enzymes. The project will investigate a new approach to this problem, employing receptors which can thread onto the polysaccharide and effectively carry it into solution. The work will involve the design and synthesis of receptors, studies of their interaction with oligo/polysaccharides, and investigations of the reactivity of any complexes which can be shown to form.