(201f) Synthesis and Application of Glycopolymer-Wrapped Carbon Nanotubes for Detecting Carbohydrate-Protein Interactions

The complexation of nanomaterials with biomolecules has been widely utilized for developing nano-enabled applications in biosensing, bioimaging, drug delivery, and therapeutics due to their exceptional optical, mechanical, and physiochemical properties. Synthetic glycopolymers – polymers with carbohydrate pendant groups – have been used extensively to mimic the functions of naturally occurring glycoconjugates. We created water soluble glycopolymer-wrapped single-wall carbon nanotubes (Glyco-SWCNTs) via noncovalent complexation utilizing lactose-containing polymers with various carbohydrate densities and chain lengths. The wrapping conformation of glycopolymers on the surface of SWCNTs enables a distinct nanostructure-induced interaction between the internal sugar group of glycopolymers and a specific carbohydrate-binding protein (CBP), as compared to currently known interaction behavior of CBPs with the terminal glycan of oligosaccharides. These Glyco-SWCNT complexes can potentially lead to the creation of versatile optical sensors for detecting carbohydrate-protein interactions with enhanced specificity and sensitivity.