Recent progress in nanobiotechnology has allowed the use of glycans and their conjugates as biofunctional molecules for many biological and biomedical applications. Therefore, specific interactions of carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) are continuously being elucidated for a deep understanding of their functions and the precise mechanism of their association with specific ligands. New generations of glyconanoparticles with outstanding features that present carbohydrates in a multivalent manner and locally in high concentrations have been showing promise of establishing the glycan code and functioning as a glycan mimic. In the first part of this review article, different types of lectins have been summarised and their main properties highlighted. In the second part, recent successful examples of glyconanoparticles formed of synthetic polymers and in most cases, conjugated with metals, have been discussed in terms of their synthesis and interactions with lectins.
The controlled polymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) is reported in a range of international beers, wine, ciders and spirits utilizing Cu(0)-mediated living radical polymerization (SET-LRP). Highly active Cu(0) is first formed in situ by the rapid disproportionation of [Cu(I)(Me 6-Tren)Br] in the commercial water-alcohol mixtures. Rapid, yet highly controlled, radical polymerization follows (Đ values as low as 1.05) despite the numerous chemicals of diverse functionality present in these solvents e.g. alpha acids, sugars, phenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, metallo-complexes, anethole etc. The results herein demonstrate the robust nature of the aqueous SET-LRP protocol, underlining its ability to operate efficiently in a wide range of complex chemical environments.
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