Chemical synthesis of GPIs and GPI-anchored glycopeptides

This microreview summarizes some recent progress in the study of glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPI), focusing on the strategies established for the synthesis of optically pure myoinositol derivatives and complex GPIs and GPI conjugates. Although in the past decade many GPIs have been achieved by linear, convergent and solid-phase synthesis, the GPIs with 2-O-acylated inositol residues and the GPI conjugates of peptides and glycopeptides have not been accomplished until recently. The successful coupling of peptides and glycopeptides to GPIs brings new promises to this area, but the scope of the relevant designs, in particular their application to more complex structures such as GPI-anchored glycoproteins, remains untested. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004).