Figure 5.

Influence of carbohydrate density and valency on lectin binding to glycopeptide nanofibers. (a) Schematic representation of self-assembled glycopeptide nanofibers with different carbohydrate densities and their potential interaction pattern with proteins. Bound proteins are expected to hide neighboring ligands on nanofibers with high carbohydrate density. (b) Turbidity (left) and co-precipitation assays (right) demonstrate that wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) binds faster to GlcNAc-Q11 and Q11 (1:3 ratio) mixed nanofibers (moderate density) compared to pure GlcNAc-Q11 nanofibers (high density). * represents p < 0.005, Student’s t-test. (c) Nanofibers with optimal carbohydrate density inhibited WGA-induced Jurkat T-cell death more effectively than nanofibers with high carbohydrate density. ** represents p < 0.01 and *** represents p < 0.001, Student’s t-test. Reproduced from reference [96] with permission from The Royal Society of Chemistry.