Combinatorial Enzyme Approach to Produce Oligosaccharides of Diverse Structures for Functional Screen

Combinatorial chemistry has been a focus of research activity in modern drug discovery and biotechnology. It is a concept by which a vast library of molecular diversity is synthesized and screened for target properties. This report is to illustrate the application of enzyme technology using the concept of combinatorial chemistry as a novel approach for the bioconversion of plant fibers. Citrus pectin was subjected to combinatorial enzyme digestion to create libraries of pectic oligosaccharides with diverse structural variants. Repeated cycles of fractionation and screening resulted in the isolation and identification of an active oligoGalA species with antimicrobial activity.