Ru(II) Glycodendrimers as Probes to Study Lectin-Carbohydrate Interactions and Electrochemically Measure Monosaccharide and Oligosaccharide Concentrations

We describe a novel platform on which to study carbohydrate-protein interactions based on ruthenium(II) glycodendrimers as optical and electrochemical probes. Using the prototypical concanavalin A (ConA)-mannose lectin-carbohydrate interaction as an example, oligosaccharide concentrations were electrochemically monitored. The displacement of the Ru(II) complex from lectin-functionalized gold surfaces was repeatedly regenerated. This new platform presents it method to monitor many different complex sugars in parallel.