Facile construction of functional biosurface via SI-ATRP and “click glycosylation”

Construction of high density glycosylated surfaces is important in the investigation of interactions between pathogens and surface carbohydrates. In this work, we provided a flexible method for glycosyl surface fabrication by combination of surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. Through this strategy, we got a very high surface glycosyl density of about 4 nmol/cm2 with the surface “click” efficiency of nearly 50%. Then the carbohydrate decorated surfaces were used to mimic cell surfaces and specific recognition of mannose with Escherichia coli was observed. We believe the methodology provided here can be used as a facile way for construction of a wide range of functional biosurfaces.