Piperidine carboxylic acids and 4-hydroxypiperidine-3-carboxylic acid, the latter obtained from bakers yeast reduction of the corresponding piperidone, were coupled in solid-phase synthesis to form simplified oligosaccharide analogues. A split-and-mix synthesis approach was used to create small combinatorial libraries which were characterised by LC-MS and screened as inhibitors of glycosidases.