Anionic Saccharides Activate Liposomes Containing Phospholipids Bearing a Boronic Acid for Ca²⁺-Dependent Fusion

Carbohydrate recognition by boronolectins, small molecules, and lectins

“…However, up until recently, there has been essentially no effort in the development of carbohydrate “binders” as potential medicinal and imaging agents. Effort in making fluorescent carbohydrate “binders” (fluorescent sensors) has been largely limited to mono- or disaccharides for potential analytical chemistry work including glucose detection33–61 with a few exceptions 62–65. There had been essentially no activity in developing “binders” for glycoproteins with the ability to differentiate glycoforms until recently when the Wang lab developed a platform approach to select DNA-based aptamers for such applications 66.…”

Target-selective vesicle fusion system with pH-selectivity and responsiveness

“…There are some reports on the design of membrane activation systems induced by metalligand interaction. 8 The complexation of metal ions at the interface of vesicles decorated with amphiphilic synthetic lipoligands triggers vesicular membrane fusion. However, these metal ion-induced fusion systems are not target-selective.…”

Boronic acid liposomes for cellular delivery and content release driven by carbohydrate binding

“…This can be overcome through multivalent binding interactions, in which avidity effects lead to exponential enhancements in affinity. 9 Smith and co-workers have previously shown that boronic acid lipids are effective at driving calcium-dependent liposome fusion 10 and at enhancing the binding of cell membranes. 11 In this article, we delve into the efficacy of boronic acid liposomes as a means to enhance both cellular infiltration and targeted content release driven by carbohydrate binding.…”