Novel ligand-based 19f-nmr and computational approaches for studying sugar-lectin molecular recognition events

Abstract

Carbohydrates play a central role in a large myriad of biological processes. They are found in all living organisms in nature, participating in different functions ranging from their use as energy source or as structural fragments, to infection-related processes in complex organisms. In vertebrates, they are located both in the cell surface and in the extracellular space, forming very diverse and intricate structures, but they are also present in the nucleus and cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells bound to proteins (glycoproteins). Their location almost ubiquitous in the organism confers them the capacity of mediate in a large number of ‘communication’ processes with other entities, for instance, in cell-cell, cell-molecule and cell-matrix interactions. In addition, carbohydrates intervene in molecular recognition processes between different organisms, such as the pathogen and parasite recognition by host cells...