Design and synthesis of well-defined glycopolymers for the control of biological functionalities

Polymers with molecular recognition abilities are investigated. The polymers with pendant saccharides, called "glycopolymers", have been reported to show the strong molecular recognition abilities to the sugar recognition protein due to the multivalent effects. In order to develop the glycopolymers with higher functionalities, I have focused on the polymer properties. The glycopolymers are prepared with living radical polymerization, and the molecular recognition abilities are able to be tuned by molecular weight and sugar densities. The hybrid glycopolymers via living radical polymerization are able to be applied to biosensors and bioseparation. In addition, the molecular recognitions are also investigated with polymer nanoparticles. In the polymer nanoparticles, the 3D-structure and physical properties are facilely controlled, and not only saccharide structure but also polymer properties are shown to be important in molecular recognition abilities. In the future experiment, the polymers with molecular recognition abilities will be investigated by featuring polymer techniques and properties.