Synthesis of S-sialyl polymers as efficient polyvalent influenza inhibitors and capturers

Glycopolymers with different sugar densities were prepared by reacting monomeric S-sialoside with polymers carrying maleic anhydride moieties. The glycoconjugates as mucin mimics competitively inhibit viral infection through multivalent interactions with hemagluttinin and neuraminidase as sialic acid receptor, which were evaluated using hemagglutination aggregation, neuraminidase inhibition assays and isothermal titration calorimetry. These glycopolymers can also be potentially used as capture molecules for a wide variety of viral strains. We anticipate that these S-sialyl polymers with strong bindings to influenza virus can not only be used as antiviral agents but also tools for the study of sialic acid-influenza virus recognition, interaction and capture.