Glycomimetics versus Multivalent Glycoconjugates for the Design of High Affinity Lectin Ligands

The recognition of the occurrence along with the importance of multivalent interactions have grounded the field of glycobiology as a fertile cradle for conceptual and methodological developments.

Particular interests are the carbohydrate-mediated recognition events that are important in molecular phenomena and this accords a central role to the study of protein-carbohydrate interactions a specific attention being given to the lectins as “readers” of the biological information carried by oligosaccharides. Not only the quest for deciphering the “sugar code” but the need to develop appropriate molecular architectures were developed and provided significant advances dealing with the complexity of oligosaccharides.

The review, written by experts in glycochemistry and structural lectinology offers an overview of the numerous synthetic approaches which have been developed for building glycomimetics and glycoclusters designed for high affinity binding by lectins of interest in human health. Three facets are presented : (i) The design of high affinity ligands ; (ii) the synthesis of small molecules as high affinity ligands of lectins ; (iii) the construction of multivalent glycoconjugates as high affinity ligands of lectins. This comprehensive review is accompanied by a large number of well selected illustrations, and an extensive literature of 400 references.