Sugar-decorated carbon dots: a novel tool for targeting immunomodulatory receptors.

Interactions between sialic acid (Sia) and sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (siglecs) regulate the immune system, with aberrations contributing to pathologies such as autoimmunity, infectious disease and cancer. Over the last decade, several multivalent Sia ligands have been synthesized to modulate the Sia-binding affinity of proteins/lectins. Here, we report a novel class of multivalent siglec probes through the decoration of α(2,6)-sialyllactose ligands on inherently fluorescent carbon dots (CD).