glykoons
Glykoons are a term encountered in discussions of carbohydrate-based nanomaterials, used to denote programmable sugar-rich particles or polymers designed to present defined glycan motifs on their surfaces. The name combines the Greek glykys, meaning sweet, with the -oon suffix that is used in naming small particles. In the literature, glykoons are described as a flexible concept rather than a single standardized class; definitions vary and some authors reserve the term for synthetic constructs that mimic certain features of natural glycans while others use it more broadly to describe glycan-bearing nanomaterials.
Structure and properties: Most glykoons have a backbone composed of saccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds,
Synthesis and characterization: Glykoons can be prepared by enzymatic glycosylation using glycosyltransferases, by chemoenzymatic routes, or
Applications and status: In theory, glykoons are explored for targeted drug delivery, imaging, and biosensing, leveraging
See also: glycoscience; glyconanotechnology; glycoconjugates.