Glycodendrimers fascinate both
carbohydrate chemists and biologists because of their ability to recognize
lectins and enhance
carbohydrate-
protein interactions. These characteristics make glycodendrimers a valuable tool in glycoscience and chemical biology. Many glycodendrimers have been described to date; this tutorial review focuses specifically on
carbosilane glycodendrimers. We present methodologies for synthesizing parent
carbosilane dendrimers and describe their use in
biological assays. We also describe representative functionalizations of parent
carbosilane dendrimers at terminal positions which are necessary for chemical
ligation with
carbohydrate ligands. This is followed by a description of all coupling reactions between
carbohydrate and
carbosilane dendrimer functionalities used in the synthesis of
carbosilane glycodendrimers. The major emphasis of this review is the use of
carbosilane glycodendrimers as medical agents against
Shiga toxins, dengue viruses,
relapsing fever Borrelia, and
hemagglutinin and
neuraminidase of influenza viruses, as well as on the relationship between
dendrimer structure and these
biological activities. The last two sections introduce recent attempts to use
carbosilane glycodendrimers as new versatile and widely-applicable
lectin sensors, and the use of
carbosilane glycodendrimers as a novel
drug carrier in an active targeting drug delivery system. This review article will be of interest to scientists in the areas of organic chemistry, chemical biology,
carbohydrate chemistry, heteroatom chemistry, and organosilicon chemistry.