Synthesis and AFM studies of lectin–carbohydrate self-assemblies

Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins found in plants, viruses, bacteria, and animal cells having the ability to distinguish complex carbohydrate structures on cell surfaces. The ubiquity of lectin–carbohydrate interactions support the notion of a glycocode, which is related to highly specific recognition of carbohydrate display expressed on different cell surfaces of normal and diseased origin. The importance of these interactions in cell biology and medicine has been realized with the applications ranging from blood typing to clinical diagnostics. This paper reports synthesis of some symmetrical carbohydrate derivatives, their interaction with lectin Concanavalin A and ultrastructural force microscopic studies of the complex formation. Preliminary efforts have been made to construct possible models to explain the nature of interaction within these assemblies.