Design of Glycopolymers for Controlling the Interactions with Lectins

Abstract

Carbohydrates are involved in life activities through the interactions with their corresponding proteins (lectins). Pathogen infection and the regulation of cell activity are controlled by the binding between lectins and glycoconjugates on cell surfaces. A deeper understanding of the interactions of glycoconjugates has led to the development of therapeutic and preventive methods for infectious diseases. Glycopolymer is one of the classes of the materials present multiple carbohydrates. The properties of glycopolymers can be tuned through the molecular design of the polymer structures. This review focuses on research over the past decade on the design of glycopolymers with the aim of developing inhibitors against pathogens and manipulator of cellular functions.

Synthesis and Applications of Colloidal Nanobioconjugates with Modular Multivalency: A Review

“…Lectins are proteins that bind carbohydrates specifically to initiate or mediate certain biological responses like infection of pathogens and cell activity regulation and can be controlled by changing the binding affinity of lectins and carbohydrates on the cell surface. , It is also well-known that carbohydrate–protein interaction becomes insignificant for monovalent nanobioconjugates and becomes significant for multivalent carbohydrate functionalized nanoparticles (Scheme c) . More specifically, multivalent lectin–glycan interactions are used by pathogens to attach to and infect host cells, and by preventing these connections, glycoconjugates can stop infection.…”

In situ PET-RAFT polymerization to prepare guanidine-and-carbohydrate modified ZnO nanoparticles

“…Among antibacterial polymers that are not prone to drug resistance, guanidine polymers are a good choice with certain advantages: the guanidine group can be ionized in a wider pH range, and it can bind to the cell membrane in the form of dihydro bonds, making the bacterial cell membrane firmly bound and the antibacterial ability stronger. 22 Carbohydrates play a significant role in biological processes such as recognition and signaling, 23–27 and they have a high affinity for proteins, making them suitable for applications that require target-specific binding. 28–31 Different carbohydrates have been used to identify bacteria.…”

Preparation of cellular membrane-mimicking glycopolymer interfaces by a solvent-assisted method on QCM-D sensor chips and their molecular recognition

“…A glycopolymer contains multiple carbohydrate units in a single molecule. 7–10 Glycopolymers exhibit multivalent interactions with target lectins and have been used as pathogen inhibitors and biosensors. 11–13…”