The field of glycobiology is gaining in importance as new discoveries continue to reveal the fundamental contributions of glycans (also called carbohydrates, saccharides, or, simply, sugars) in biology. Cell-surface and extracellular matrix glycoconjugates govern myriad biological processes intimately linked to healthy development as well as the onset and progression of many diseases. Glycans are typically organized on polypeptide scaffolds in patterns that encode protein-binding motifs. The patterns span tens to hundreds of nanometers and it is the nanoscale encoding of information by glycans (and their exclusion from the direct purview of the Genome) that makes them elusive to interrogation by traditional genetic and biochemical methods. Our group combines synthetic chemistry approaches with concepts of nanoscience to generate glycomaterials that match the dimensions and sophistication of native glycoconjugates and can be used to intercept, analyze, and dynamically perturb signaling pathways controlled by these biomolecules.
