Dendrimer-like PEO glycopolymers exhibit anti-inflammatory properties.

A new class of high molecular weight polysulfated PEO dendrimer-like glycopolymer has been synthesized by a combination of arm-first and core-first methodologies followed by trichloroacetimidate glycosidation as a facile bioconjugation strategy. An L-selectin antagonist was identified that exhibits 103-fold greater activity than other multivalent sLex glycopolymers and 20-50 times greater potency than other linear heparinoids. A significant reduction in inflammatory cell recruitment was observed in vivo.