ABSTRACT
This article briefly reviews our recent investigation on the design, syntheses and functions of glycopeptide surface-modified dendrimers. First, a general methodology is described for the synthesis of glycopeptide-modified dendrimers, “Sugar Balls”, by the reaction of d-glucose-, d-galactose-, or N-acetyl-d-glucosamine-carrying L-serine N-carboxyanhydrides (glycoNCA’s) with primary amino groups on the surface of poly(amido amine) dendrimer or by the ring-opening polymerization of glycoNCA’s using primary amine-terminated dendrimer as a macroinitiator. The second section is concerned with synthesis and self assembly of amphiphilic surface block dendrimers, in particular, half sugar balls having a hydrophilic hemisphere surface covered with sugar moieties and a hydrophobic hemisphere surface covered with n-hexyl groups. The final section deals with some functions of glycopeptide surface-modified dendrimers, such as encapsulation of low molecular weight compounds, complexation of DNA, and molecular recognition as evaluated by the hemagglutination inhibition assay.
