Lectin mimics: Boronolectins and fluorescent boronolectins

CARB 20

Binghe Wang, Department of Chemistry and Center for Biotechnology and Drug Design, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-4089
Lectins are naturally occurring carbohydrate-binding proteins that are known to mediate various biological events. Furthermore, they are also important tools in studying the roles and functions of various glycosylations. However, the limited number and substrate specificity of lectins available restrict their applications. In this presentation, we will discuss our work in preparing boronic acid-based lectin mimics (boronolectins), which change fluorescent properties upon saccharide binding and have the potential to be “tuned” to recognize different carbohydrates. Furthermore, the platform technology allows for the preparation of a large number of such boronolectins for various in vitro and in vivo applications and should be very useful in glycomics work as well.