Sequence-controlled multi-block glycopolymers via cu(0) mediated living radical polymerization

Synthetic glycopolymers with pendant saccharides bind to mammalian carbohydrate-recognition proteins with high affinity due to their multivalency and primary structure. However, glycoproteins function in nature via an exquisitely tuned "glycocode" and mimicking this code remains an interesting challenge in polymer chemistry. In order to address this we have synthesized glycomonomers via a [3+2] cycloaddition reaction between sugar-alkyne and azido-acrylates and these monomers were used to synthesize a series of sequence controlled glycopolymers (SCGP) using single electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET-LRP)