Abstract
Glycodendrimers were found to have binding constants that were orders of magnitude higher than monosaccharides for lectins. Glyconanoparticles are excellent biomaterials because they offer a multivalent display of glycans similar to the glycocalyx structures covering cell surfaces. In addition, glyconanoparticles provide several advantages, including water solubility, ease of synthesis, stability, and, most importantly, absence of toxicity. Various types of multivalent neoglycoconjugates have been synthesized over the years. The primary focus was frequently to enhance the affinity or amplify the inhibitory potency of these biological systems. Thus, the designed neoglycoconjugates are capable of targeting bacterial cells and bacterial toxins, cancer imaging, targeted delivery, and antiadhesion. This chapter attempts to generate a snapshot of some potential future approaches of glycans to treat diseases. By optimizing the multivalent effects in ligand-receptor recognition events, the designed and synthesized glyconanoparticles, glycodendrimers, and glycoclusters have provided many useful implications and shown their potential uses as therapeutic agents.