Glycobiology Advance Access originally published online on May 22, 2008
Glycobiology 2008 18(8):570-586; doi:10.1093/glycob/cwn041
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Review |
Covalent inhibitors of glycosidases and their applications in biochemistry and biology
Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Tel: +1-604-822-3402; Fax: +1-604-822-8869; e-mail: withers{at}chem.ubc.ca
Received on January 30, 2008; revised on May 9, 2008; accepted on May 12, 2008
Glycoside hydrolases are important enzymes in a number of essential biological processes. Irreversible inhibitors of this class of enzyme have attracted interest as probes of both structure and function. In this review we discuss some of the compounds used to covalently modify glycosidases, their use in residue identification, structural and mechanistic investigations, and finally their applications, both in vitro and in vivo, to complex biological systems.
Key words: affinity label / glycoside hydrolase / mechanism-based inactivator