The use of sugar chains has increased in biomedical fields, such as disease diagnosis and pharmaceutical agents, as sugar chain functions have become more evident in recent years. The “sugar chain cluster effect,” which improves their apparent affinity to sugar chain-binding molecules, is effective to exploit the functions of sugar chains. Various sugar-chain-functionalized nanomaterials have been developed for diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Among them, metal nanoparticles with particle sizes comparable to those of proteins can be immobilized sugar chains at high density and are attractive core materials for exploiting sugar chain functions. This mini-review overviews the preparation and medical applications of sugar chain-immobilized nanoparticles.

The use of sugar chains has increased in biomedical fields, such as disease diagnosis and pharmaceutical agents, as sugar chain functions have become more evident in recent years. The “sugar chain cluster effect,” which improves their apparent affinity to sugar chain-binding molecules, is effective to exploit the functions of sugar chains. Various sugar-chain-functionalized nanomaterials have been developed for diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Among them, metal nanoparticles with particle sizes comparable to those of proteins can be immobilized sugar chains at high density and are attractive core materials for exploiting sugar chain functions. This mini-review overviews the preparation and medical applications of sugar chain-immobilized nanoparticles.