Saccharide-based molecular gels

Compared to peptide-based molecular gels, studies and applications of saccharide-based molecular gels are still limited. Despite their potential as a matrix for cell immobihzation and encapsulation, saccharide-based gelators usually have complex structures, which have limited their application for tissue engineering [48]. 

Molecular imprinting technique was exploited to prepare a sensor array based on phenylboronic acid functionalized mesoporous silica [76]. The phenylboronic acid, chosen as the saccharide receptor, was used to functionalize triethoxysilane, which was then used to prepare the mesoporous silica by the sol gel technique. 

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