Sequence-controlled glycooligomers for tumor targeting

Cancers of diverse origins exhibit more rapid and greater carbohydrate uptake and consumption compared to normal cells, making carbohydrate an efficient cancer-targeting tool. Here, we report a glycooligomer construction methodology enabling efficient synthesis of sequence-controlled glycooligomers both in solution and on solid support. The uptake of the synthesized glycooligomers by cancerous cells is found to be significantly higher than most normal cells, and the tumor-targeting capability of the sequence-optimized glycooligomers is explored. The efficient cancer cell selectivity and in vivo tumor accumulation indicate its great potential for biomedical applications, such as targeted cancer diagnosis and therapy.