Mees Maarten A, Effenberg Christiane, Appelhans Dietmar, Hoogenboom Richard
Supramolecular Chemistry Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University , Krijgslaan 281 S4, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden , Hohe Straße 6, D-01069 Dresden, Germany.
Biomacromolecules. 2016 Dec 12;17(12):4027-4036. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.6b01451. Epub 2016 Nov 7.
Carbohydrates are important in signaling, energy storage, and metabolism. Depending on their function, carbohydrates can be part of larger structures, such as glycoproteins, glycolipids, or other functionalities (glycoside). To this end, polymers can act as carriers of carbohydrates in so-called glycopolymers, which mimic the multivalent carbohydrate functionalities. We chose a biocompatible poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) as the basis for making glycopolymers. Via the partial hydrolysis of PEtOx, a copolymer of PEtOx and polyethylenimine (PEI) was obtained; the subsequent reductive amination with the linear forms of glucose and maltose yielded the glycopolymers. The ratios of PEtOx and carbohydrates were varied systematically, and the solution behaviors of the resulting glycoconjugates are discussed. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) revealed that, depending on the carbohydrate ratio, the glycopolymers were either fully water-soluble or formed agglomerates in a temperature-dependent manner. Finally, these polymers were tested for their biological availability by studying their lectin binding ability with Concanavalin A.
碳水化合物在信号传导、能量储存和新陈代谢中起着重要作用。根据其功能，碳水化合物可以成为更大结构的一部分，如糖蛋白、糖脂或其他功能基团（糖苷）。为此，聚合物可以在所谓的糖聚合物中充当碳水化合物的载体，这些糖聚合物模仿多价碳水化合物功能。我们选择了生物相容性聚（2-乙基-2-恶唑啉）（PEtOx）作为制备糖聚合物的基础。通过PEtOx的部分水解，得到了PEtOx与聚乙烯亚胺（PEI）的共聚物；随后用葡萄糖和麦芽糖的线性形式进行还原胺化反应，得到了糖聚合物。系统地改变了PEtOx与碳水化合物的比例，并讨论了所得糖缀合物的溶液行为。动态光散射（DLS）表明，根据碳水化合物比例的不同，糖聚合物要么完全可溶于水，要么以温度依赖的方式形成团聚体。最后，通过研究它们与伴刀豆球蛋白A的凝集素结合能力来测试这些聚合物的生物利用度。
