Controlling Glycan Folding with Ionic Functional Groups

Glycans are intrinsically flexible molecules that can adopt many conformations. These molecules often carry ionic functional groups that influence glycan’s conformational preferences, dynamics, and aggregation tendencies. Inspired by these mechanisms, we have engineered a glycan sequence whose secon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the American Chemical Society Vol. 147; no. 18; pp. 15126 - 15135
Main Authors Yadav, Nishu, Poveda, Ana, Vázquez Mena, Yadiel, Rosenthal, Martin, Ogawa, Yu, Jiménez-Barbero, Jesús, Delbianco, Martina
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Chemical Society 07.05.2025
Subjects
Carbohydrate Conformation
enzymes
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Ions - chemistry
polysaccharides
Polysaccharides - chemistry
protonation
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Summary:Glycans are intrinsically flexible molecules that can adopt many conformations. These molecules often carry ionic functional groups that influence glycan’s conformational preferences, dynamics, and aggregation tendencies. Inspired by these mechanisms, we have engineered a glycan sequence whose secondary structure can be precisely manipulated by using ionic groups. We strategically incorporated ionic substituents into a glycan sequence adopting a hairpin conformation. Complementary ionic groups stabilized the closed conformers, while ionic repulsions shifted the populations toward the open forms. External stimuli, such as pH variations or enzyme addition, enabled us to dynamically control the hairpin’s opening and closing. Additionally, changes in protonation states led to glycan aggregation, suggesting opportunities for the creation of responsive glycan-based materials.
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ISSN:0002-7863
1520-5126
1520-5126
DOI:10.1021/jacs.4c17992