ABSTRACT Polymer–protein complexes that combine antifouling behavior with specific carbohydrate recognition are attractive for biomaterials and nanocarrier design. Here, zwitterionic statistical copolymers bearing phosphorylcholine groups and pendant glucose moieties were synthesized with systematically varied glucose‐unit contents (0–100 mol%) via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. We hypothesized that an intermediate glucose‐unit fraction would provide sufficient multivalent lectin binding while maintaining colloidal stability through the strong hydration layer of phosphorylcholine units. Mixing the copolymer containing 48 mol% glucose units with the lectin concanavalin A produced stable colloidal complexes in buffered saline at a glucose‐unit‐to‐protein molar ratio of 400:1, with a hydrodynamic radius of approximately 200 nm and a transmittance of approximately 80%. Addition of free glucose or free mannose competitively disrupted lectin binding to the polymer, leading to partial competitive displacement and a decrease in hydrodynamic radius to approximately 110 nm (glucose) or 60 nm (mannose). These results demonstrate that the balance between zwitterionic antifouling units and carbohydrate ligands governs both complex stability and competitive displacement, providing design guidelines for stimuli‐responsive polymer‐protein assemblies.
Kakitani et al. (Wed,) studied this question.