Current Science

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Amino acids and nucleotide bases (adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine) constitute the first and the second alphabets of life. Glycans, i.e. carbohydrates bound to proteins are considered as the third alphabets of life. In addition to glucose, other monosaccharides like mannose, sialic acid, fucose, etc. are constituents of glycans. Like the genetic code, the importance of the sugar code is now being understood. Glycans are involved in the classification of blood groups. Studies on mechanism of binding of viruses to glycans leading to influenza and H1N1 flu have led to the development of new drugs to treat such infections. Glycans in nanotechnology (glyconanotechnology) is an emerging area of study as carriers for vaccinations, drug delivery in cancer detection, and as energy sources.
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