Glycopolymers based on carbohydrate or vinyl backbones and their biomedical applications

Abstract

Carbohydrates with biocompatibility, degradability and structural diversity have been used increasingly as renewable resources to prepare sustainable materials. Particularly, glycopolymers based on carbohydrate or vinyl backbones not only retain the functionalization of sugars but also mimic the structure of biological materials. In this review, we summarize progress in the synthesis and application of glycopolymers based on carbohydrate or vinyl backbones in the last decade. Glycopolymers based on carbohydrate backbones can be achieved through ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of bicyclic sugar-based carbonates, phosphates, ethers, and lactam monomers and the polycondensation of difunctional cyclic sugar monomers, while glycopolymers based on vinyl backbones are mainly obtained by controlled radical polymerization (CRP) methods. Besides, examples of the applications of these polymers in lectin recognition, bacterial adhesion, hydrogels, bioimaging, and drug and gene delivery are classified and discussed.