A Synthetic Lectin for p-Glucosyl

摘要

The measurement of blood glucose levels is a regular necessity for millions of diabetics. The standard enzyme-based methodology is reliable and inexpensive, but has certain limitations. In particular, it is difficult to employ in long-term implantable sensors, due to stability problems and/ or the need for consumable components. Alternative approaches have therefore been widely studied. Some involve carbohydrate binding proteins (lectins), while others employ boronic acid units which bind glucose through cyclic boronate formation. The use of "synthetic lectins" (receptors which bind through non-covalent interactions) has been discussed as a third possibility, but presents technical difficulties. Biomimetic carbohydrate recognition has proved challenging for supramolecular chemists, and the effective binding of glucose in water is still an unsolved problem.