Glycopolymers: Synthesis and Applications

Glycopolymers have received considerable interest in recent years due to their increasing potential applications in material science and biomedicine. With better understanding of the role of carbohydrates in biological systems and with recent advances in organic and carbohydrate chemistry, the design and synthesis of glycopolymers have become simpler where significant research efforts have been carried out towards the fabrication of advanced glyco-polymeric architectures for improved performance.

This book provides an update on the recent advances on the synthesis of glycopolymers, their characterisations, their biological properties and their applications. The first objective of this book is to provide the readers a detailed overview about the synthesis of glycopolymers via several modern polymerisation techniques. The characterisation of these materials and their solution properties are also discussed. In addition to this, the conjugation of glycopolymers to different types of biomacromolecules are discussed. The second objective of this book is to provide the readers a detailed overview of the applications glycopolymers. In addition, the biological properties of the glycopolymers as a function of the types of carbohydrates attached, the polymer architectures and compositions are elaborated. This book will provide a quick reference to students and researchers working in both academia and industry.