The application of combinatorial chemistry to the synthesis of carbohydrate-based compound collections has received increased attention in recent years. New strategies for the solution-phase synthesis of oligosaccharide libraries have been reported, and the use of monosaccharides as scaffolds in the generation of combinatorial libraries has been described. Novel approaches to the assembly of carbohydrate-based antibiotics, such as aminoglycoside analogs and vancomycin derivatives, have also been disclosed.