Library Approach To Carbohydrate Sensors

This project is being conducted by Dr. Steve Patterson, the 1996/97 Bayer Postdoctoral Fellow, under the direction of advisors Drs. Richard Taylor & Brad Smith in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Nieuwland Science Hall, University of Notre Dame

Research over the last two decades has shown that the biological importance of carbohydrates extends far beyond their energy storing and structural features. For example cell surface carbohydrates likely play important roles in cellular adhesion, cancer metastasis, bacterial and viral infection, and immunological response. Thus, the role of carbohydrates is emerging as a phenomenon of fundamental significance. The objective of our project is to develop a novel class of fluorescent sensors for the detection of specific carbohydrates in aqueous solution. We have been using combinatorial libraries, a powerful new synthetic technology, to produce, screen and identify the desired molecular sensor. This approach allows for the preparation of thousands of structurally unique molecules with the ability to fluoresce upon binding to a carbohydrate. Using fluorescence microscope techniques we can screen mixtures of potential receptors and identify molecules with the desired sensing properties. This concept is general and can, in principle, be applied to the identification of sensors for any desired analyte.