The synthesis of 16-mercaptohexadecanyl glycosides for biosensor applications.

The Pk trisaccharide and the central disaccharide element of asialo GM1 activated as their trichloroacetimidates were each used to glycosylate 16-(p-toluensulfonyloxy) hexadecanol 1. Displacement of the tosyl group by thiocyanate followed by sodium borohydride reduction and saponification afforded oligosaccharide 16-mercaptohexadecanyl glycosides that were isolated as the corresponding disulfides 6 and 17 unless oxygen was rigorously excluded from the solvents used for work-up. Dithiothreitol reduction of disulfides and subsequent isolation under an inert atmosphere with degassed solvents gave the thiols 7 and 18. Chemisorption of omega-glycosyl alkanethiols and alkanethiols onto gold electrodes produces self-assembled monolayers that can act as amperometric biosensors for the detection of proteins that bind to the immobilized oligosaccharide epitope.