Sialic Acids are ubiquitous at the terminii of many carbohydrate sequences and are endowed with functionality which makes them challenging and interesting targets for molecular recognition. In addition to the challenge associated with recognition, they also have biological import which implicates them in signalling processes for some tumor cells and influenzas. An encoded, combinatorial synthesis will be used to discover molecules which bind strongly and specifically to sialic acids. The binding is proposed to center around the axial carboxylate which can form a salt bridge with a guanidinium cation. In addition peptide chains are placed in the outlying regions to recognize and hydrogen bond with various alcoholic functions of the saccharides. When the appropriate hydrogen bonds and the salt bridge are established, an aryl boronic acid will be placed in proximity to the linear triol portion of silaic acid forming a stabilized boronic ester. These molecules could have ramifications for understanding and manipulating cellular events.
