Verification of suitable ratio of carbohydrate residues in a glycopolymer having GlcNAc moieties for determining the affinity for wheat germ agglutinin

Abstract Convenient access of a glycopolymer having N-acetyl- D -glucosamine (GlcNAc) residues was accomplished by means of radical polymerization of a simple GlcNAc monomer with or without acrylamide. Biological evaluations of glycopolymers displaying various carbohydrate contents were carried out by using fluorometric assays, and the results suggested that ratio of the sugar unit: acrylamide had a significant relation to affinities between carbohydrate—protein interactions. In this study, the unit ratio of 1:11.5 of carbohydrate: acrylamide was found to be the best ratio.