Abstract
Glyconanoparticles (glyco-NPs), defined as nanocarriers that display synthetic carbohydrate molecules, present multiple carbohydrate ligands on their surfaces and enhance the weak interactions of carbohydrate ligands with receptor biomolecules through multivalent effects. Because of the highly specific and structurally modulable nature of synthetic carbohydrate molecules, various glyco-NPs have been developed to accelerate the study of glycobiology. Herein, we briefly introduce recent applications of glyco-NPs toward protein recognition and detection, cell targeting and imaging, and carbohydrate-active enzyme immobilization. © 2011 American Chemical Society.