Copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition
between organic azides
and terminal alkynes, commonly known as CuAAC or click chemistry,
has been identified as one of the most successful, versatile, reliable,
and modular strategies for the rapid and regioselective construction
of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles as diversely functionalized molecules.
Carbohydrates, an integral part of living cells, have several fascinating
features, including their structural diversity, biocompatibility,
bioavailability, hydrophilicity, and superior ADME properties with
minimal toxicity, which support increased demand to explore them as
versatile scaffolds for easy access to diverse glycohybrids and well-defined
glycoconjugates for complete chemical, biochemical, and pharmacological
investigations. This review highlights the successful development
of CuAAC or click chemistry in emerging areas of glycoscience, including
the synthesis of triazole appended carbohydrate-containing molecular
architectures (mainly glycohybrids, glycoconjugates, glycopolymers,
glycopeptides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycoclusters, and glycodendrimers
through regioselective triazole forming modular and bio-orthogonal
coupling protocols). It discusses the widespread applications of these
glycoproducts as enzyme inhibitors in drug discovery and development,
sensing, gelation, chelation, glycosylation, and catalysis. This review
also covers the impact of click chemistry and provides future perspectives
on its role in various emerging disciplines of science and technology.