Cross-linked surface-grafted glycopolymer for multivalent recognition of lectin

An α-link mannose-conjugated acrylamide monomer was synthesized. This monomer was polymerized by free radical polymerization with acrylamide, a cross-linker, and a surface linker directly on the gold surface. The surface linker, with an active carbon-carbon double bond, was preimmobilized on the gold surface by the thiol anchor. Thus, a cross-linked mannose-conjugated polymer thin layer was grafted onto a gold surface. This thin layer of polymer showed high binding sensitivity and excellent selectivity to its target lectin, concanavalin A (Con A), surpassing the formerly used linear glycopolymer and self-assembled glycol monolayers, validated by the techniques of quartz crystal microbalance, atomic force microscopy, and surface plasmon resonance. Remarkable response was observed to Con A at a concentration as low as 5 × 10 ^-10 M. The response is proportional to the Con A concentration up to 10^-7 M in phosphate-buffered saline. The use of cross-linked polymer decreased the flexibility of the polymer backbone between the carbohydrate binding sites. Therefore, the cost of conformational entropy for multivalent binding was minimized. The binding constants of the so-prepared cross-linked polymer with Con A were measured to be between 2.5 × 10⁶ and 3.2 × 10⁶ M^-1. These values are significantly larger than that obtained in our early study with a carbohydrate self-assembled monolayer. In addition to the carbohydrate-lectin recognition, additional selectivity may be achieved by controlling the degree of cross-linking.