Glycopolymers proteins

Figure 3.7 Synthesis of chain-end-functionalised glycopolymers via cyanoxyl-mediated free radical polymerisation and representative scheme of glycopolymer protein hybrid fabrication. Reproduced with permission from X.L. Sun, K.M. Faucher, M. Houston,...

Figure 13.4 A schematic showing some of the frameworks that have been reported for the study of protein-carbohydrate interactions. Carbohydrates are represented as cyclohexane. (Top) Glycodendrimer, carbohydrate-functionalized nanoparticle, and star polymer. (Bottom) Linear glycopolymer, carbohydrate-functionalized protein, and carbohydrate-functionalized surface.

Glycopolymers, consisting of sugar residues attached to a polymer backbone, have emerged as important tools for the investigation of sugar-protein inter-actions.8a,77j 95... 

Polymer adsorption has also been adapted to QCM sensing whereby biofunctional thin films are adsorbed on the crystal surface with non-specific binding controlled by tuning of polymer composition. This approach proved successful as applied to carbohydrate-protein interaction by Matsuura et al. through adsorption of lactose bearing amphiphilic polymers on hydrophobic surfaces which then showed RCA12o and peanut lectin (PNA) affinity [33]. Carbohydrate surfaces prepared by photo insertion into an adsorbed polymer were tested by QCM and showed the predicted affinities [34] while in another example a covalently bound glycopolymer demonstrated Concanavalin A detection ability [35]. 

Neoglycoproteins, liposomes, and glycopolymers have been successfully used to demonstrate that multivalency does indeed amplify carbohydrate-protein binding interactions by factors as high as thousands. However, by their very nature, these neoglycoconjugates have ill-defined chemical structures. They are heterogeneous in size and carbohydrate contents. Additionally, neoglycoproteins have been shown to... 

AF4 coupled with static and DLS detectors enables comprehensive information about structural and branching characteristics of biopolymers (e.g., starches), synthetic polymers, proteins, etc. [25, 26]. Especially in case of branched polymer stractures like dendronized glycopolymers, the separation and characterization with AF4-LS lead to comprehensive information and understanding in molecular structures and aggregation behavior [27]. Furthermore, studies of uptake studies of dendritic glycopolymers and dye molecules were performed for the first time by AF4-LS (see Fig. 4.12). Here, a good correlation was obtained between the increase of molar mass and the quantified amount of dye molecules, which were encapsulated by the glycopolymers [28]. 

Synthetic carbohydrate polymers, so-called glycopolymers, also exhibit specific interactions with lectins and proteins. Thus, synthetic polymers containing sugar units can mimic functions similar to those found in biological interactions of natural carbohydrates. Figure 5.18 schematically highlights possible interactions of glycopolymer architectures with cell membranes. 

Glycodendrimers are mainly considered in various biomedical fields [39b] because of their high biocompatibility in combination with multivalency and specific interactions that are important, for example, for protein and cell membrane binding and recognition processes. The use of glycopolymers as viral and bacterial antiadhesion drugs and for inhibition of infections is very prominent (see also Sections 6.2 and 6.3). 

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