Intelligent Products from Cheap Renewable Sources

Simple sugars such as D-glucose, sucrose and lactose are some of the cheapest renewable organic raw materials. With the aid of only a few simple synthetic transformations and almost without traditional protecting group strategy these raw materials can be used as starting materials for a variety of interesting products with potential higher added value. Examples from the group's work are non-ionogenic tensides, enantiomerically pure glycerol derivatives as well as glycosidase inhibitors based on sucrose, various intermediates from D-mannitol and D-glucitol, but also defined precursors of diagnostics and therapeutics. An important approach in this context is the transformation (isomerisation) of a cheap, easy available raw material into a more valuable isomer with the aid of chemical and biochemical procedures.