The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Biopolymers such as proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides have precise structures and exhibit diverse and excellent functions. A key function of a biopolymer is molecular recognition, which governs complex biological phenomena. Biomolecular recognition relies on the multivalent effect, in which multiple functional groups interact simultaneously. The interaction between physiologically active saccharides and sugar recognition proteins is known to significantly enhance the multivalent effect, and the molecular recognition ability of glyco-clusters, which aggregate glycans, strongly exhibits the multivalent effect. As one type of glycocluster, glycopolymers with saccharides attached to their side chains exhibit strong molecular recognition ability. We are investigating how to precisely control glycopolymers like biopolymers using controllled radical polymerization via the RDRP method. Polymer design through controlled polymerization can enable the control of molecular recognition with proteins and the development of molecular recognition devices.