An Alternating Glycopolymer Composed of Carbohydrate-carrying Maleimide and OH-functionalized Vinyl Ether— A New Synthetic Strategy for Glycosaminoglycan Mimics

An alternating glycopolymer was synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of a maltose-carrying maleimide and diethylene glycol mono vinyl ether as the monomers. The maleimide derivative was newly synthesized by click chemistry using maltosyl azide and N-propargyl maleimide. This facile methodology for sequence-control of glycopolymers gives the shortest way to the synthesis of the first alternating glycopolymers as mimics of natural glycosaminoglycans.