Synthesis and application of carbohydrate-containing polymers

Polysaccharides and glycoproteins participate in a number of biochemical reactions and cell-cell recognition processes in vivo. Synthetic carbohydrate-based polymers are being increasingly explored as biodegradable, biocompatible, and biorenewable materials for use as water absorbents, chromatographic supports, and medical devices. Moreover, synthetic polymers bearing sugar residues can also offer a good surface for cell attachment and, thus, might be applied to cell recognization events in antimicrobial/viral and tissue engineering. This review presents various synthetic approaches for the preparation of sugar-containing polymers.