An Improved Method for the Synthesis of Gdp-Hexanolamine Derivatives, key Reagents for the Purification and Characterisation of Carbohydrate Processing Enzymes

ABSTRACT As part of our ongoing studies on the isolation and characterisation of α-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase (FucT) enzymes, an improved method for the synthesis and purification of the key biological tool GDP-hexanolamine (1a), together with detailed experimental conditions and product characterisation are reported. We demonstrate the viability of the product obtained, by its competitive inhibition of an α-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase. Subsequently, we are able to use it to derivatise a sepharose gel column which we show is highly efficient in the purification of a recombinant α-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase from a crude preparation. The GDP-hexanolamine is converted to the photoaffinity probe GDP-hexanolaminyl-4-azidosalicylate (1b), useful in the characterisation of fucosyltransferase enzymes.