Effect of molar mass of poly(2-oxazoline) based glycopolymers on lectin binding†

Glycopolymers are a versatile polymer type employed in many applications, especially the biomedical field, due to their ability to exploit multivalent lectin–carbohydrate interactions. Understanding how to improve and manipulate the interactions between glycopolymers and lectins is crucial for their success within the pharmaceutical industry. Herein, we synthesised block copolymers via cationic ring opening polymerisation of 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline and 2-(3-butenyl-2-oxazoline) with varying quantities of 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline. These polymers were further functionalised with pendent glucose moieties to produce glycopolymers. All polymers and glycopolymers were analysed using a variety of techniques including NMR, GPC, FT-IR and MALDI-ToF MS. Their binding capabilities were evaluated by surface plasmon resonance, utilising human lectins: DC-SIGN, MBL and Langerin, to investigate how the molar mass influences lectin binding.