Chemical Synthesis of Human Milk Oligosaccharides: Sialyllacto- <i>N</i> -Tetraose a (LSTa)

Being the key factor in safeguarding the growth and development of an infant, human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) have drawn attention from multiple disciplines. The availability of HMO in pure form is needed for facilitating further studies and enhancing our understanding of the exact role of an individual HMO in a pool of more than 200 known compounds. Among those, sialylated HMO are already known to have a pivotal role in the antiadhesive, prebiotic, immunomodulating, and antimicrobial activities along with providing nutritional value for brain development in infants. Reported herein is the first chemical synthesis of a mono sialylated HMO, sialyllacto-<i>N</i>-tetraose a (LSTa).