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Near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores have unique features that endow them with several advantages over conventional shorter wavelength emitting dyes. As a result, they have been widely utilized as fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging agents, as well as photodynamic and photothermal therapeutic agents. However, non-targeting NIR fluorescence-emitting organic molecules have the drawback of low selectivity toward tumors, which potentially results in severe side effects caused by damage to normal tiss

Not only are glycan-mediated binding processes in cells and organisms essential for a wide range of physiological processes, but they are also implicated in various pathological processes. As a result, elucidation of glycan-associated biomolecular interactions and their consequences is of great importance in basic biological research and biomedical applications. In 2002, we and others were the first to utilize glycan microarrays in efforts aimed at the rapid analysis of glycan-associated recogni

Recognition of glycans by proteins plays a crucial role in a variety of physiological processes in cells and living organisms. In addition, interactions of glycans with proteins are involved in the development of diverse diseases, such as pathogen infection, inflammation and tumor metastasis. It is well-known that multivalent glycans bind to proteins much more strongly than do their monomeric counterparts. Owing to this property, numerous multivalent glycans have been utilized to elucidate glyca

Glycosidases are ubiquitous enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages in oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. These enzymes play a vital role in a wide variety of biological events, such as digestion of nutritional carbohydrates, lysosomal catabolism of glycoconjugates, and posttranslational modifications of glycoproteins. Abnormal glycosidase activities are associated with a variety of diseases, particularly cancer and lysosomal storage disorders. Owing to the physiological a

Through their specific interactions with proteins, cellular glycans play key roles in a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. One of the main goals of research in the areas of glycobiology and glycomedicine is to understand glycan-protein interactions at the molecular level. Over the past two decades, glycan microarrays have become powerful tools for the rapid evaluation of interactions between glycans and proteins. In this review, we briefly describe methods used for the prepa

Carbohydrate microarrays, containing glycosylated fluorescent probes, have been constructed using N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester-conjugated BSA modified surfaces. When the carbohydrate moieties were cleaved from the fluorescent probes in the conjugates by glycosidases, the fluorescence signals of the probes were enhanced. In this study, we have applied these microarrays to profile glycosidase activities and have employed them to determine IC₅₀ values of glycosidase inhibitors.

For both fluorescence imaging and isolation of glycosidases in cells, we prepared novel activity-based, trifunctional fluorogenic probes that consist of (1) a sugar moiety as a glycosidase substrate, (2) a fluoromethylated coumarin for fluorescent labeling, and (3) an alkyne tag for click reaction to enable isolation of the labeled enzyme. One probe, β-GlcNAc-CM-F, was employed to fluorescently detect endogenous O-GlcNAcase in cells and to isolate the labeled enzyme by affinity chromatography.

Herein we report a strategy to eradicate pathogenic bacteria selectively, which utilizes bacterial lectin-targeting glycoconjugates that contain an epitope or a photosensitizer to promote antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) or photodynamic therapy (PDT), respectively. Our results show that death promoted by using the designed synthetic glycoconjugates coupled with ADCC or PDT takes place selectively in pathogenic bacteria expressing lectins on their surfaces.

Proteins, which are ubiquitous in cells and critical to almost all cellular functions, are indispensable for life. Fluorescence imaging of proteins is key to understanding their functions within their native milieu, as it provides insights into protein localization, dynamics, and trafficking in living systems. Consequently, the selective labeling of target proteins with fluorophores has emerged as a highly active research area, encompassing bioorganic chemistry, chemical biology, and cell biolog

Herein we describe a method for inducing cancer cell death, which relies on the use of a H2O2-responsive glycan metabolic precursor in conjunction with antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) or photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Owing to the generation of heterogeneous glycoproteins in cells, it is highly difficult to study glycoprotein-mediated biological events and to develop biomedical agents. Thus, general and efficient methods to prepare homogeneous glycoproteins are in high demand. Herein, we report a general method for the efficient preparation of homogeneous glycoproteins that utilizes a combination of genetic code expansion and chemoselective ligation techniques. In the protocol to produce glycan-defined glycop

Abstract Fifty‐five mono‐ and disaccharide analogues were prepared and used for the construction of microarrays to uncover lectin‐selective ligands. The microarray study showed that two disaccharide analogues, 28′ and 44′ , selectively bind to Solanum tuberosum lectin (STL) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), respectively. Cell studies indicated that 28′ and 44′ selectively block the binding of STL and WGA to mammalian cells, unlike the natural ligand LacNAc, which suppresses binding of both STL an