A new class of model glycolipids: synthesis, characterization, and interaction with lectins.

Although lectin-reactive molecules in biomembranes are generally glycoproteins (1,2), lectins also bind glycolipids (3-9). For a detailed study of leetin-glycolipid interaction we required substances of defined structure. Because isolation of naturally occurring glycolipids is time consuming and only small quantities are generally obtained pure, we synthesized these compounds. In this paper we report the synthesis, characterization, and some biological applications of a new class of model glycolipids which can be readily prepared in high yield as pure crystalline solids. A preliminary communication has already appeared (10).