[Truncated abstract] The development of several carbohydrate-based pharmaceuticals has stimulated an increased interest in the field of carbohydrate chemistry. The discovery of Acarbose and invention of Miglitol, treatments for type II diabetes, as well as the influenza treatments, Relenza and Tamiflu, have been largely responsible for this increased interest. These treatments operate by the inhibition of glycoside hydrolases, a group of enzymes important in a variety of biological processes. This thesis involves the study of a group of glycoside hydrolase inhibitors known as azasugars, which are nitrogen-containing sugar mimics . . . The final chapter, Chapter 4, focuses on the testing of these disaccharides as a possible alternative carbohydrate source for pre-term infants. Initially, commercially available glycoside hydrolases were used to detect any hydrolysis of the four disaccharides, with (206) exhibiting the most promising results (to provide D-glucose and D-galactose). Detailed kinetic studies were then conducted using homogenates obtained from pig intestinal mucosa. Unfortunately, the results indicated that (206) was unsuitable as an alternative carbohydrate source for pre-term infants.