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GLYCOMATERIALS:
GLYCOCLUSTERS,
GLYCODENDRIMERS,
GLYCOPOLYMERS,
HYBRID GLYCOMATERIALS,
AND GLYCOSURFACES
CARMEN ORTIZ MELLET, ALEJANDRO MENDEZ-ARDOY,
AND JOSE MANUEL GARCIA FERNANDEZ
6.1
INTRODUCTION
Carbohydrates at the cell surface (glycolipids, glycoproteins, proteoglycans)—
forming the so-called glycocalyx—play key roles in the communication of cells with
the external environment. Specific, reversible interactions of these carbohydrates with
protein receptors (lectins) are at the origin of important biological and pathological
processes including fertilization, bacterial, and viral infection or tumor metastasis,
among others. Binding of lectins to carbohydrate ligands is typically characterized
by high selectivities but low affinities, which is circumvented in nature by endow-
ing the functional lectin molecules with two or more carbohydrate-binding sites and
presenting the complementary glycotopes in multiple copies. The resulting global
interaction involves several simultaneous binding events, resulting in associations
that are significantly more efficient than the simple addition of individual recognition
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