Design and synthesis of carbohydrate mimetics: A new strategy for tacklingthe problem of carbohydrate-mediated biological recognition

Carbohydrates have been known as poor candidates for drug development. Rece nt studies have, however, shown that structurally simplified small molecule s as mimics of complex carbohydrates recognized by receptors can be develop ed as inhibitors of carbohydrate-mediated biological recognition. In additi on, small molecules with higher affinity and specificity than the parent li gands can be developed by incorporating additional hydrophobic or charged g roups in the carbohydrate mimetic which contains essential functional group s for receptor binding. Representative examples are illustrated in the stud ies of sialyl Lewis x - selectin interactions, glycosidase and glycosyltran sferase reactions and aminoglycoside antibiotic - RNA interactions.