Glycosides are ubiquitous and abundant in Nature, being essential for biological interactions and processes. Nevertheless, progress in glycobiology is hampered by the lack of synthetic carbohydrates, an issue related to their complexity. Carbohydrates are composed of polyhydroxylated units that exist in different forms (e.g. pyranoside or furanoside), interlinked in a variety of regioselectivities, with the anomeric centres displaying either α-or β-anomeric configurations . Faced with this high degree of complexity organic chemistry has developed numerous glycosylation methodologies . These involve several synthetic steps, including protection-deprotection cycles, are characterised by relatively poor overall yields, and generate considerable amounts of waste. This is in stark contrast to polynucleotides and polypeptides, both of which are accessible via automated chemical synthesis processes and through in vivo biological synthesis. Unfortunately, unlike these biopolymers, most carbohydrates cannot be obtained using straightforward, generic technologies amenable to automation.