Chondroitin sulfates (ChS) are a complex polysaccharide having important structural and protective functions and play important roles in many biological processes. It has been widely applied in a variety of fields, such as medicine, biotechnology, pharmacy, food, cosmetics and textiles. This mini-review focuses on the recent advances in microbial and chemical synthesis of such molecules. The productive strains, fermentation conditions, convergent strategies, use of new starting materials, and syntheses of all the ChS variant oligosaccharides are discussed. In addition, suggestions for further studies in syntheses of ChS are proposed based on current research.

Contents
1 Introduction
2 Biotechnological production of ChS and ChS-like products
2.1 Enzymatic synthesis of ChS and ChS-like products
2.2 Microbial production of ChS and ChS-like products
3 Chemical synthesis of ChS and ChS-like products
4 Conclusion and outlook