A series of four oxime-linked octavalent sialic acid
and oligosialic
acid poly(ether amidoamine) glycodendrimers were synthesized. In the
attachment of the sialic acids to the dendrimer core, chemoselective
oxime bonds were formed between the unprotected sugars (sialic acid
or α-2,8-linked di- through tetra-sialic acids) and the aminooxy-terminated
dendrimer core in a microwave-mediated reaction, resulting in good
to excellent yields (58–100%) of the fully functionalized octavalent
glycodendrimers. Next, using a combination of 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic
resonance and working from the inside outward, we employed a systematic
method to assign the proton and carbon signals starting with the smallest
linkers and dendrimer cores and moving gradually up to the completed
octavalent glycodendrimers. Through this approach, the assignment
of the protons and carbons was possible, including the E- and Z-isomers related to the oxime dendrimer to
sugar connections and relative quantities of each. These glycodendrimers
were designed as broad-spectrum inhibitors of viral pathogens.