PNA–sugar conjugates as tools for the spatial screening of carbohydrate–lectin interactions

Multivalent carbohydrate–lectin interactions are essential for a multitude of biological recognition events. Much effort has been spent in the synthesis of potent multivalent scaffolds in order to mimic or inhibit biological carbohydrate–protein interactions. However, the defined spatial presentation of carbohydrates remained a challenging task. Peptide nucleic acid (PNA)- and DNA-based double helices are useful scaffolds that enable the controlled display of carbohydrate ligands in a modular approach. The hybridization of PNA-sugar conjugates with complementary DNA strands provides multivalent complexes with defined spatial presentation of carbohydrates, which facilitates the spatial screening of carbohydrate–lectin interactions with Ångström-scale precision.