CHAPTER 9: Glycopolymers in Biosensing Applications

Saccharides play important roles in living systems as a molecular recognition unit. Although the interactions between saccharides and proteins are weak, glycopolymers amplify the weak interactions by multivalency and enable novel biosensors to be formulated. The saccharide–protein interactions of pathogens are stronger than those of proteins owing to the multivalent protein structure and some sugar recognition proteins are also suitable for biosensing. Since biosensors are composed of molecular recognition and sensing parts, glycopolymers have been conjugated with optically and electrically active materials. Biosensing glycopolymers were investigated with various methods such as surface plasmon resonance, electrochemistry, immunochromatography and fluorescence change. The glycopolymer-conjugated materials showed specific molecular recognition of proteins, viruses and bacteria.