Design and synthesis of glycomimetics: recent advances

In the past few decades, an increased understanding of glycan abilities to encode biochemical information has stimulated an important growth in the design and synthesis of glycomimetic probes of relevant biological targets. The combination of data from multiple sources, such as crystallography, NMR spectroscopy and other biophysical methods (only to mention a few, surface plasmon resonance and carbohydrate microarrays), has shed light on the key interaction events between carbohydrates and their protein‐targets. Due to the insufficient metabolic stability of carbohydrates as drugs, which compromises both their bioavailability and potency, the design of chemically modified analogues appears as a valid alternative for the development of therapeutic agents. Recently, the meaning of carbohydrate mimetics has been reformulated by the scientific community and currently it is mainly used to refer to any compounds that have been demonstrated to truly mimic the structural and functional aspects of the corresponding natural carbohydrates. Glycomimetics ideally show enhanced enzymatic stability and, at the same time, a better selectivity towards the desired protein targets. In the present account, we specifically focus on the most recent advances in the design and synthesis of glycomimetics. In particular, we highlight the efforts of the scientific community in the development of straightforward synthetic procedures for the preparation of sugar mimics and in their preliminary biological evaluation.