Carbohydrates are one of the most powerful and versatile classes of biomolecules that nature
uses to regulate organisms’ biochemistry, modulating plenty of signaling events within cells, triggering
a plethora of physiological and pathological cellular behaviors. In this framework, glycan carrier
systems or carbohydrate-decorated materials constitute interesting and relevant tools for medicinal
chemistry applications. In the last few decades, efforts have been focused, among others, on the development
of multivalent glycoconjugates, biosensors, glycoarrays, carbohydrate-decorated biomaterials
for regenerative medicine, and glyconanoparticles. This review aims to provide the reader with a general
overview of the different carbohydrate carrier systems that have been developed as tools in different
medicinal chemistry approaches relying on carbohydrate-protein interactions. Given the extent of
this topic, the present review will focus on selected examples that highlight the advancements and potentialities
offered by this specific area of research, rather than being an exhaustive literature survey of
any specific glyco-functionalized system.
The synthesis of novel hyperbranched monodisperse linear dendrimers, based on 2,2-bis-(hydroxymethyl)-propionic acid (bis-MPA), has been achieved by convergent metathesis-mediated coupling between the alkene-terminated focal point of bis-MPA dendrons. On their surface, dendrimers present 4, 8 and 16 functional groups. Glycodendrimers exposing multiple saccharide moieties have also been obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of the use of metathesis for focal point coupling.
Lysate in-Solution Deglycosylation (LSD) is a novel method for the preparation of N-glycans from tissue. The substrate for LSD is a commonly used lysate that is the starting point for many other applications, including classical proteomics methods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.