Synthesis and application of water-soluble conjugated glycopolymer

Water-soluble conjugated polymers (WSCPs) have been applied to a wide range of fields such as chemical sensing, bio-sensing and bio-imaging. The advantages of WSCPs for these applications include their high brightness, good photo-stability, structure variety and sufficient solubility in aqueous solution. WSCPs are usually decorated with water-soluble ionic groups or polymers on their sides or end groups. Sugars are a kind of biomolecules existing naturally and most of them have the features of water-solubility, therefore in recent years researchers have introduced sugar compounds into conjugated polymers leading to water-soluble conjugated glycopolymers with the biological properties of carbonhydrates. In this review, we summarize the recent development in the synthesis of water-soluble conjugated glycopolymers and their applications in terms of lectin-sensing, bacteria-sensing and live-cell imaging. Finally, we point out the peculiarity, developing trend and the challenges of water-soluble conjugated glycopolymers.