Abstract
Specific carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions on the cell surfaces are now widely believed to participate in various biological events, such as cell-cell adhesions and signal transductions. The author has used an intramolecular approach to investigate the carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions by using small glycoclusters in which their conformational transitions are energetically coupled with intramolecular carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions. For example, the intramolecular carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction was monitored on the basis of the helix-coil transition of the glycosylated α-helical peptide. The rotational transition along molecular axes was also utilized in the μ-oxo-bisporphyrinatoiron-based and ferrocene-based systems to monitor the carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions. In all these systems, it was proven that specific cations induce specific interactions between the oligosaccharides.
