Regioselectively Addressable Functionalized Template (RAFT) carrier, either a polylysine dendritic framework or a second RAFT, then 16 copies of bGal, aMan, bLac or cancer-related Thomsen-Freidenreich (aTF) antigen were successively conjugated within the same molecule using oxime chemistry. We thus obtained a new generation of dendri-RAFTs glycoclusters with high glycosidic density and variable spatial organizations.
These compounds displaying 16 endgroups were unambiguously characterized by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Further biological assays between a model lectin from Canavalia ensiformis (ConA) and mannosylated glycoclusters revealed a higher inhibition potency than the tetravalent counterpart, in particular for the hexadecavalent polylysine skeleton.