Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The General Hospital Corporation

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Eth Zurich

Schweizerisches Tropeninstitut

Peter H Seeberger

Obadiah J Plante

Stephen L Buchwald

Timothy Manning Swager

Daniel A Snyder

Michael Charles Hewitt

Nir Hacohen

Matthew D Disney

Gerd Pluschke

Hernan Orgueira

Juan Zheng

Eddie Adams

Daniel B Werz

Marco Tamborrini

Peter Schell

Rodrigo B Andrade

Rodrigo P Andrade

The present invention generally relates to organic polymers able to participate in an analyte-recognition process, where an analyte facilitates an energy transfer between an energy donor and an energy acceptor. Certain embodiments of the invention make use of fluorescent conjugated polymers, such as poly(phenylene ethynylene)s and other polymers comprising pi-conjugated backbones. For example, one aspect of the invention provides a fluorescent conjugated polymer and an indicator that can interact with each other in the presence of an analyte to produce an emissive signal. In some cases, the interaction may include energy exchange mechanisms, such as Dexter energy transfer or the strong coupling effect. The interaction of the conjugated polymer and the indicator, in some instances, may be facilitated through specific interactions, such as a protein/carbohydrate interaction, a ligand/receptor interaction, etc. Another aspect of the invention provides for the detection of biological entities, for example, pathogenic bacteria such as, or viruses such as influenza virus. In some cases, biological recognition elements may be used to determine the biological entity, for instance, carbohydrates that can be used to specifically interact with at least part of the biological entity, such as a protein in the cell membrane of a bacterium. Still other aspects of the invention involve articles, devices, and kits using any of the above-described systems.

Polymers for analyte detection

The present invention generally relates to compositions comprising antigen-carbohydrate conjugates and methods of immune modulation featuring these reagents.

Antigen-carbohydrate conjugates

One aspect of the present invention relates to solution-phase approaches to GPI synthesis. Another aspect of the present invention relates to key building blocks, and syntheses thereof, useful for GPI assembly. Yet another aspect of the invention relates to an automated method for the synthesis of GPIs and fragments thereof.

Solid-phase and solution-phase synthesis of glycosylphosphatidylinositol glycans

The present invention relates to conjugates of oligosaccharides of formula 1, wherein R is a linker to a carrier protein and optionally comprises up to three further saccharides, 5 and which are useful for vaccination, methods of synthesis of such conjugates, antibodies against this antigen, hybridoma producing monoclonal antibodies against this antigen, assays using these antibodies for the detection ofspores and kits comprising these antibodies, and a vaccine for the prevention ofinfection comprising the conjugates of oligosaccharides of formula 1. Monoclonal antibodies 10 according to the invention selectively bind to, but not to related bacteria such asand other bacteria of this group such as. 

[object Object]

One aspect of the present invention relates to differentially protected glycosyl phosphates. Another aspect of the present invention relates to the preparation of glycosyl phosphates from glycal precursors. In another aspect of the present invention, glycosyl phosphates are used as glycosyl donors in glycosylation reactions.

Synthesis of oligosaccharides, reagents and methods related thereto

One aspect of the present invention relates to an apparatus for the efficient synthesis of oligosaccharides on a solid support, e.g., formed by subunit addition to terminal subunits immobilized on solid-phase particles. In certain embodiments, the apparatus of the present invention is used in combinatorial methods, e.g., as described herein, of synthesizing oligosaccharides.

Apparatus and methods for the automated synthesis of oligosaccharides

One aspect of the present invention relates to optionally substituted halogenated benzyl halides and the like. These compounds are useful as halogenated benzyl ether-based protecting groups for a variety of functional groups. Another aspect of the present invention relates to use of said protecting groups in an orthogonal protecting group strategy for the synthesis of complex molecules that comprise a number of suitable functional groups. Another aspect of the present invention relates to saccharides bearing various arrays of protecting groups of the present invention. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of synthesizing an oligosaccharide or glycoconjugate, comprising the steps of: using a saccharide bearing at least one protecting group of the present invention to glycosylate a second molecule to give a product comprising said saccharide; and removing a protecting group of the present invention from said product.

Protecting groups useful in the synthesis of polysaccharides, natural products, and combinatorial libraries

Described is a modular, general synthetic strategy for the preparation in solution and on a solid support of heparin, heparin-like glycosaminoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and non-natural analogs of each of them. Additionally, the modular strategy provides the basis for the preparation of combinatorial libraries and parallel libraries of defined glycosaminoglycan oligosaccharides. The defined glycosaminoglycan structures may be used in high-throughput screening experiments to identify carbohydrate sequences that regulate a host of recognition and signal-transduction processes. The determination of specific sequences involved in receptor binding holds great promise for the development of molecular tools which will allow modulation of processes underlying viral entry, angiogenesis, kidney diseases and diseases of the central nervous system. Notably, the present invention enables the automated synthesis of glycosaminoglycans in much the same fashion that peptides and oligonucleotides are currently assembled.

Solid- and solution-phase synthesis of heparin and other glycosaminoglycans

The present invention relates to versatile linkers for tethering a molecule to a solid support, e.g., for tethering a monomer, oligomer or polymer to a solid support, which are stable to a wide range of reaction conditions, but can be cleaved under well-defined conditions, thereby liberating the molecule from the solid support. Preferably, the linkers are used to tether to the solid support unprotected, partially-protected or fully-protected monosaccharides or oligosaccharides, or unprotected, partially-protected or fully-protected glycoconjugates. The linkers of the present invention may be used to tether to solid supports building blocks useful in the assembly of libraries of other types of small molecules. The present invention also relates to a molecule or plurality of molecules tethered to the solid support via a linker or linkers of the present invention. The present invention also relates to processes for synthesizing molecules, e.g., monomers, oligomers or polymers, on a solid support, wherein a starting material in the synthesis of the molecule, intermediates in the synthesis of the molecule, and the molecule itself are tethered to the solid support during the process via one of the linkers of the present invention. In certain processes of the present invention, the molecule is liberated from the solid support by cleavage of the linker of the present invention.

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Peter H Seeberger